The characteristic differences of anemones, recommendations for growing anemone in a garden and indoors, advice on breeding, combating possible diseases and pests, facts for the curious, species. Anemone (Anemone) can be found under the names Anemone or Chickenpox. Plants of this genus were attributed to the Ranunculaceae family. The native area of distribution, which falls on almost all zones of the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, excluding areas with a tropical climate, even the Arctic is included here. The places of distribution are very diverse, it can be both wet and dry soils, forests, hills and steppes, the lower belt of mountains and rocky cliffs, as well as areas of the tundra. There are up to 170 species of these perennials in the genus.
| Family name | Buttercup |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Herbaceous |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (tubers or dividing the bush) |
| Landing period in open ground | Planted in spring |
| Disembarkation scheme | No deeper than 5 cm |
| Substrate | Alkaline or neutral |
| Illumination | Open area with bright lighting or partial shade |
| Moisture indicators | Moisture stagnation is harmful, watering is moderate, drainage is recommended |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 0.05-1 m |
| Color of flowers | Cream, blue, snow white, pink, lilac yellow, blue, green, purple, red |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Single or semi-umbellate |
| Flowering time | Spring or autumn (summer) |
| Decorative time | Spring-autumn |
| Place of application | Borders, flower beds, mixborders, flowerpots |
| USDA zone | 3, 4, 5 |
This plant got its scientific name thanks to the Greek word "Avemos", which translates as "wind". But perhaps the ancient people believed that this delicate flower should be called "the daughter of the winds", because even with light breezes, the flower petals begin to flutter, and the flower heads themselves, crowning the flower-bearing stems, swing on them. Once it was believed that under the influence of windy weather, the buds of Anemone opened or closed, therefore among flower growers it is often called anemone or chicken pox, or it is called, taking transliteration in Latin - Anemone.
These plants have a herbaceous shape and a fleshy rhizome that has a cylinder shape or grows in the form of tubers. Often stems with a greenish-red tint, glabrous. The leaf plates form a rosette or "cluster" in the lower part of the plant. It is from the axils of such or lower leaves that stems and peduncles originate, most often they are finite. It happens that foliage in the root zone may be absent. The leaves have petioles, the length of which is very varied. The outlines of the leaf blades can be for the most part finger-dissected or separate. The color of the leaves is rich green.
With its flowers, anemone resembles a poppy, but looking closely, you begin to understand the difference. Flowers are formed singly or can be combined into semi-umbellate inflorescences, in which there are most often a large number of buds. The size of the flowers is large. The shape of the perianths is very diverse, with 5–20 petals, which have shades of yellow, blue, pink, green, purple or red, but are also snow-white. The flowers are bisexual, their outlines take on a radially symmetrical contour. A large number of stamens and pistils are present inside the bud. Usually, three sheet covers of greatly reduced sizes are formed, which are located very close to the peduncles, very much like sepals.
By the time of the flowering process, anemones are divided into spring and autumn (summer) varieties. At the same time, in spring, it falls in May, after which the plant begins a dormant period, but the foliage continues to decorate the stems until autumn. There are forms with double outlines of flowers.
After pollination, the formation of nut-like fruits takes place. They take very different forms, their surface is bare or pubescent in different ways. Often there are various elements that contribute to the spread of seed material with the help of the wind, in rare cases by animals.
All anemones are suitable for growing in flower beds, mixborders or even as a pot culture.
Recommendations for growing anemone - planting and care in the open field and indoor conditions
- Location selection. In the garden, Anemone can be planted in a flower bed, well lit by the sun, at least it should be in partial shade. Low light levels will negatively impact growth and flowering. When kept indoors, you can put the plant on the windowsill of the east or west window, since direct rays of the sun are contraindicated for it. All due to the fact that in the open air there is a movement of air masses, and a sunburn is not terrible for a flower. When growing at home, it is important to remember that the anemone will delight with flowering in winter, so additional lighting is required, at least 12 hours a day. It is important to remember that the plant is afraid of drafts.
- Priming. For cultivation, it is recommended to select a soil with sufficient looseness and permeability to water and air. It should be neutral or alkaline in acidity. If the substrate is acidic, then wood ash or dolomite flour is mixed into it. Loam with peat or ordinary leafy soil, into which sand is added, is recommended.
- Growing temperature indoor heat indicators should be in the range of 12-13 degrees, when the anemone is just developing, but if the sprouts have already "made their way" to the light, then the column of the thermometer is maintained in the range of 15-17 units. If an anemone grows in a flower bed, then remembering that it is not a frost-resistant plant, as soon as the flowering ends and the first frosts have not yet come, it is recommended to dig up the bushes and transplant them into pots, or the tubers and rhizomes are stored in paper bags in cool conditions, with crushed sawdust …
- Humidity. This figure is not important for Anemone, but there is evidence that it feels better with high levels of moisture in the air.
- Watering. When the plant is grown in the garden, natural precipitation is enough for it, but if there is no rainfall in the summer, and the weather is dry, then you can water the anemones 2-3 times every 7 days. When cultivated in rooms, this aspect will directly depend on the heat indicators and the corresponding growth phase. During budding and flowering, it is necessary for the soil moisture to increase, in the rest of the period, watering should be moderate, since moisture stagnation is harmful.
- Fertilizers for anemones. When grown in a flower bed or in a room, the plant needs feeding. This point must be taken into account when planting in a pot or open ground, as well as when buds begin to form and during their flowering. Complex mineral compositions are used, and for home cultivation, fertilizers intended for indoor flowering plants. At the same time, an excess of such drugs has a very negative effect on anemones, so you should not exceed the dosage indicated by the manufacturer. If the variety of chickenpox is winter-hardy and it is not planned to move it indoors, then with the arrival of autumn, when the flowering is completely finished, granular fertilizer is scattered on the substrate. Plants respond well to the introduction of organic matter, especially if it is mixed into the soil mixture when planting.
- Wintering Anemone. For the cold period of the year, the "daughter of the winds" can be transplanted into containers, but if you do not want to do this, then it is covered with fallen dry leaves, spruce branches or special covering material (for example, agrofibre).
- Landing. To do this, it is necessary to dig a hole up to 15 cm deep, while its diameter should be equal to 30–40 cm. A handful of humus and ash from wood is laid at the bottom. Then the tuber is just put, covered with soil and thoroughly watered. Since the top of the tuber is usually flat, then the tip is planted down. But if the shape is non-standard, then it is laid on its side.
Breeding tips for anemones
You can get new anemone plants by sowing the collected seeds, planting tubers or separating an overgrown bush.
For seed reproduction, you will have to carry out preliminary preparation of the material, since it has very low germination rates. Of 100% of seeds, usually no more than 1/4 of them germinate. In this case, it is necessary to use freshly harvested seeds, but stratification is recommended to improve these properties. In autumn, the seeds are mixed with peat or coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 3, then this mixture is thoroughly moistened and placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator. In this state, 4-8 weeks should pass. During this time, make sure that the mixture is constantly moistened, therefore, it is sprayed from a spray bottle. After the seeds become swollen, they are mixed with a small amount of soil mixture and again abundantly sprayed.
After the specified period, this mixture is removed and transferred to a room where the temperature will be 5 degrees higher and good ventilation is provided. Having carried out such a movement, they wait for the anemone sprouts. When after that several days have passed, the container with seeds is taken out into the fresh air, placed in the ground or snow, sprinkled on top with sawdust or straw. When March comes, the seeds are planted in seedling boxes, achieving their germination.
If you don't want to bother with seedlings, then with the arrival of autumn, anemone seeds are sown immediately in containers filled with a light soil mixture with sufficient looseness. Then such containers are buried in a secluded place and insulated from above with spruce branches. Thus, after winter, they will undergo natural stratification and in the spring the seed material is removed from the soil and planted.
When propagating with tubers, it is recommended to remove them from dormancy. It is necessary that they swell thoroughly and therefore they are soaked in warm water. After such an operation, planting is carried out in pots, in which a peat-sandy substrate is laid. The planting depth of tubers should not exceed 5 cm. During germination, it is necessary to keep the soil constantly in a moderately moist state.
Or, instead, they are wrapped with gauze or any other cloth that is very wet with a rooting stimulant (for example, epin). Placing the anemones tubers in a plastic bag, they are kept for 6 hours. After this time, the material is ready for planting in open ground.
Usually, anemones are shared when they have reached 4–5 years of age and have grown strongly. With the arrival of spring, it is recommended to carefully remove the mother plant of the anemone from the soil and divide it into parts so that the length of the rhizomes is at least 5 cm. Each of the divisions should contain renewal buds. Planting is carried out in a permanent place with loose and nutritious soil. The depth of the touchdown is maintained only 5 cm. Such Anemone will be old enough only after 3 years from the moment of disembarkation.
Fight against possible diseases and pests of anemones
You can please flower growers that the anemone is practically not affected by diseases, but when grown in the garden, the plant can suffer from snails or slugs. To do this, you will have to use deterrent preparations such as "MetaGroza", but some growers prefer to collect uninvited "guests" by hand and then process the Anemone bushes with metaldehyde. Also pests are nematodes or scoop caterpillars. If symptoms of nematodes are detected, the plants cannot be cured and it is better to remove the bushes from the soil and destroy (burn), and the substrate on the site will have to be replaced.
Facts for the curious about anemone, photo of flowers
In medicine, it is customary to use varieties of buttercup, oak or noble anemones. It is clear that today all folk remedies have supplanted more effective medications, but it is worth pointing out that since ancient times these plants have been used because of their diaphoretic and antiseptic properties. Such herbs had anti-inflammatory, analgesic and diuretic effects. With the help of types of chickenpox, folk healers cured toothaches and headaches, weakened the symptoms of migraine and neuralgia, and restored hearing and vision. If a person had problems with the gastrointestinal tract, then he was prescribed decoctions of anemone, such drugs helped with menstruation deviations, paralysis or impotence.
There is also information that some species contain toxic substances. So, for example, the species Anemone weak (Anemone debilis) was used by Kamchadals as a raw material for obtaining poison, which was used to lubricate arrows. Due to the fact that the outlines of Actinia (Actiniaria) - an inhabitant of the sea depths, are slightly similar to the flowers of anemone, such coral polyps are called "sea anemones".
Types of anemones
- Anemone blanda. It is a miniature plant, the height of which varies in the range of 5–10 cm. Spring appearance. The most popular among florists are varieties with a blue color of flowers Blue Shades, pink petals from Charmer. White Splendor has pure white colors.
- Anemone oak (Anemone nemorosa). The plant is distinguished by its shrub form, reaching a height of 20–30 cm with its shoots. However, this species is not very popular. The flowering process occurs in the spring. The flowers are simple, open up to 20–40 mm in diameter. Their petals have a snow-white tone, but there are varieties in which they are lilac, blue or pinkish in color. There are plants with double flowers. The variety is distinguished by its great unpretentiousness.
- Buttercup Anemone (Anemone ranunculoides). A bush of this species can approach 20-25 cm in height with branches. There are varieties with double and simple flowers. The size of the flowers is smaller than that of the previous species, but the corolla petals are distinguished by a rich yellow color. It blooms in the spring months. It also has low maintenance requirements. It can grow in almost any substrate.
- Japanese Anemone (Anemone japonica) is an autumn variety. It has a strong flowering stem, which can vary in height in the range of 40–150 cm. Rhizome is powerful, growing vertically. On the root processes there are a large number of renewal buds, which contributes to a very rapid growth, therefore, after 1-2 years, one specimen turns into dense thickets. A rosette is assembled from the root leaves. The leaf plates are large. The height of the rosette can be 40 cm. The color of the foliage is bright, the shape of the leaves is multi-lobed, there is an uneven serration along the edge, which is why the plant does not lose its decorative properties during the entire growing process. The diameter of the flowers can reach 5–8 cm. Their shape is simple in the form of a cup or it can be semi-double. The color of the petals is delicate, including whitish, pinkish or lilac tones, occasionally the flowers are red.
- Anemone hybrid (Anemone hybrida). It is also an autumn species, the height of the peduncles of which is equal to 90–120 cm. The flowering process takes time from August to mid-autumn. The flowers are simple in shape, snow-white in color, on the reverse side, the petals are painted in a pinkish tint. The bud consists of 5-9 sepals.
