Anemone hupehensis, Japanese anemone — spreading deciduous (Ranunculaceae) (image 1 of 5)

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Anemone hupehensis

Japanese anemone

Ranunculaceae

Central and western China, chiefly Hubei, Sichuan, and Yunnan

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Deer Resistant Container Friendly

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterMedium

HardinessZones 4–8

Overview

Anemone hupehensis is a herbaceous perennial forming a basal clump of trifoliate leaves 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) high, with branched wiry flowering stems rising to 24-36 inches (60-90 cm) from August to October. Each flower is 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) across with five to six rose-pink to mauve tepals around a boss of 60-100 yellow stamens and a green button of carpels. Leaflets are coarsely toothed, dark green above and grey with hairs beneath. The plant spreads by horizontal roots that raise new crowns 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) from the parent each season, and root fragments left in the soil regenerate, so an established colony is hard to clear out of a border. Shoots emerge in late April, four to six weeks after most spring perennials. Flowering begins in the second or third season after planting; first-year divisions usually carry leaves alone. All parts contain ranunculin, which converts to protoanemonin in damaged tissue and causes mouth blistering and vomiting in dogs, cats, and people, along with contact dermatitis from the sap. Hardy in USDA zones 4-8.

Native Range

Anemone hupehensis is native to central and western China, chiefly Hubei, Sichuan, and Yunnan, growing on stream banks, forest margins, and grassy mountain slopes between 1,600 and 8,200 feet (500-2,500 m). Plants long naturalised in Japan are treated as A. hupehensis var. japonica spp.. Garden plants sold as A. × hybrida are crosses with A. vitifolia from the Himalaya.

Suggested Uses

Planted through the middle to back of shaded borders at 18-24 inch (45-60 cm) spacing, along woodland edges, and in mass plantings under high canopy where the spreading habit fills ground. Grown in 5 gallon (19 L) containers, which also holds the running roots in check. Cut stems last four to six days in water when taken as the first flower on the stem opens.

How to Identify

Basal leaves are trifoliate, with three separate toothed leaflets on a stalk 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) long, against the vine-shaped single blades of A. vitifolia. Flowering stems branch two or three times and carry a whorl of three stalkless leaves partway up. The parts that read as petals are tepals, five or six per flower in the wild species, with no separate sepal ring beneath. Seed heads are woolly white globes 0.6-0.8 inch (15-20 mm) across that split open in November.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height2' - 3'

Width/Spread1'6" - 2'

Reaches mature size in approximately 3 years

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~9 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowering runs from mid-August to mid-October in USDA zone 6, and from late July in zone 8, giving eight to ten weeks of colour. Individual flowers hold four to six days, and a mature clump carries 20-50 open at once across its branched stems. Bloom is set on shoots of the current season. Flower counts fall in dry summers, with buds aborting where the root zone dries in July and August.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

rose-pink to mauve with a yellow stamen boss

Foliage Description

dark green above, grey with hairs beneath

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-8 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam clay silt

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

2-3 years

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Four to eight hours of sun with shade through the hottest part of the afternoon suits the species; leaf margins brown in full sun where soil dries. Soil is humus-rich loam holding moisture at pH 5.5-7.5, and 2 inches (5 cm) of compost worked in at planting carries the first season. Water use is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) per week from June to September, since drought during bud formation cuts the flower count. A spring application of balanced fertiliser at 1 pound per 100 square feet (0.5 kg per 9 sq m) covers the season. Root suckers travelling beyond the intended area are severed with a spade at the perimeter twice a season, or the clump is grown inside a buried barrier 12 inches (30 cm) deep. Winter wet on heavy clay rots the crown, and Japanese beetle and black blister beetle graze the foliage.

Pruning

Flowering stems are cut to the basal foliage after the last flowers fade in October, or left standing for the woolly seed heads and cleared in March. Basal leaves come off once frost blackens them. Stems ringed or staked at 18 inches (45 cm) stay upright on sites that catch wind above 20 mph (32 km/h). Division is done in early spring, cutting the crown into pieces that each carry three or more buds.

Pruning Schedule

fallearly spring