All spring, summer and fall, I can simply walk out into my garden to get inspiration for which plant should be plant of the month. I simply look around and whichever one catches my attention is the one I choose. As I write this just a few days before Christmas, there is nothing flowering so I have to flip through my copy of The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region and see which plant speaks to me. Today is was the lovely, but shy, Wood Anemone – Anemone Quinquefolia. This gorgeous spring bloomer is ideal for a moist shady garden that mimics it forest home. If you have such a setting, see if you can find some of this anemone to brighten up the shade.
As usual, the Plant Description and In the Garden sections are courtesy of Shawn Booth from In Our Nature. The content of this article is excerpted from our book The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Firefly Books), available wherever you buy your books.
Scientific Name: Anemone quinquefolia
Common Name: Wood Anemone
Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)
Alternate Common Names: Five Leaved Anemone, Herb Trinity, Mayflower, Nightcaps, Nimbleweed, Wood Flower, Wood Windflower
Plant Description: Wood Anemone features a finely hairy stem with a group of three compound leaves and one basal leaf. Each leaflet is up to 4 cm long, deeply divided into two or three parts, coarsely toothed, finely hairy and wedge shaped at the base. Some leaves are so deeply cleft that they give the impression of having four to five leaflets. Leaflets are attached by very short leaf stalks. A flower stalk arises from the center of the whorled leaves and terminates with a single 2.5 cm wide flower. Flowers are characterized by four to nine sepals (usually five) surrounding a cluster of many white-tipped stamens. Flowers give way to a round seed head containing tiny, hairy, beaked, oval seeds.
In the Garden: Wood Anemone is a true spring ephemeral, meaning it emerges early in the spring to take advantage of the extra sunlight coming down through the leafless trees above it. The delicate-looking flowers bloom for a short time, then the whole plant goes dormant by midsummer. Because of this, it is recommended that it be planted with long-lasting plants that can fill in the gap it leaves behind. The short and sweet springtime display of Wood Anemone encourages us to stop and truly appreciate the cycles of nature.
Skill Level: Beginner
Lifespan: Perennial
Exposure: Full shade to part shade
Soil Type: Rich, well drained
Moisture: Moist to medium
Height: 10–20 cm
Spread: 10–20 cm
Bloom Period: Apr, May, Jun
Color: White (pink)
Fragrant (Y/N): N
Showy Fruit (Y/N): N
Cut Flower (Y/N): N
Pests: Pest free and deer resistant
Natural Habitat: Deciduous or mixed evergreen-deciduous forests and forest edges, riverbanks, and fields
Wildlife Value: A variety of native bees collect the pollen
Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: None
Moth Larva Host Plant For: None
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–8
Propagation: Very little information is available on starting seeds for Anemone quinquefolia, except that it is difficult to germinate, and artificial stratification may not work. It apparently requires a cold period, followed by a warm, and then another cold (i.e., two successive winters) before seeds germinate. Fortunately, this plant can be propagated by dividing the root as it spreads naturally by rhizomes into thick mats.
Additional Info: Contact with the sap of this slow-growing plant may irritate skin.
Native Range:
