Anemonastrum canadense
Canada Anemone
- Average to slightly wet soils -Can tolerate dry conditions but may get a bit tattered by the end of the summer
- Full Sun to moderate shade
- 12” to 18” tall, 12’ to 18” wide, spreading to form a patch
- Mid spring blooms
- Ontario Native, Thrives in woodland and Meadow ecosystems. Groundcover. Adapts well to garden conditions where sufficient space is available
Are you looking for a native flower that you can tuck into a tidy garden and have stay right where you planted it?
Canada Anemone isn't that plant.
Enthusiastic spreaders, these plants will happily form extensive patches, thriving in full sun in high moisture settings and in partial shade in dryer places.
They grow to around 12-18" in height, including their blooming stems. If you are working toward a ground cover effect, planting them around 12" apart will lead to a dense patch relatively quickly (if you have a non-spreading clump that has stayed in place for a few years, it is likely a patch of the European look-alike, Anemone sylvestris).
Their bloom season is generally late May or early June and they can put on quite a show if they are happy with their growing conditions.
In addition to being an excellent species for mass planting below and around mature deciduous trees, Canada Anemone combines well with equally rambunctious species like Obedient Plant, Prairie Sundrops, Beebalms, Goldenrods and Asters as well as around and below shrubs and tall perennials.
A capacity to expand exuberantly isn't something to fear in the garden, it is just another trait to plan for, one that can minimize the need for weeding since they don’t leave many spaces open for volunteer plants to get started in.
The plants in my backyard are still quite young, pictured here with the super-duper, high-tech squirrel and racoon deterrents required for the survival of any new additions to the garden so I’ve also included a few photos of mature plants I’ve seen in some other gardens around Ottawa.
