As I noted in the first installment of this series on the Truth, truth is subjective. This is about how these particular plants perform in my garden. They will not necessarily perform in this exact way elsewhere, but their performance here is a good indication of their likely performance in other gardens.Have you ever noticed that you see only closeup photos of the flowers of Anemone x hybrida 'Party Dress'?
Have you ever wondered why? While the flowers are large and semi-double,
as Kim/Blackswamp Girl (A Study in Contrasts) and I have found out, this plant can't stand up on its own, it is, in fact, the first "groundcover Anemone." This Party Dress is a spaghetti-strapped silk chemise on a woman of a certain age. Left au natural, it's a mess.
With the proper support (thanks, Victoria's Secret), it can be stunning.
As I'm still experimenting with methods of staking, I'm not sure these are the proper supports.By contrast, Anemone x hybrida 'Andrea Atkinson' needs no support.
This sturdy plant, with a height listed of 3-4 feet, has started topping out at well over 5 feet now that it is well-established. 'Andrea Atkinson' has presence and is the defining feature of my autumn garden. So why then am I considering ripping it all out? As Gail of Clay and Limestone will attest, I'm not the only one who has found a Japanese Anemone to be a thug.But this goes beyond mere thuggery. 'Andrea Atkinson' has started trying to take over the garden by popping up in the middle of the path and has even started crowding out my new Cornus alternifolia 'WStackman' (Golden Shadows). I dig up the new growth; it grows right back.
Circled in white is more of the plant that has regrown away from the mother plant, which is also threatening some Aquilegias. When I finally excavated a large section out of the path, this is what I found:
long runners well below the surface.
I have a phobia of plants that spread by underground runners. Plants that self-sow abundantly I can handle, I can see the seedlings all over. Plants that spread by above-ground runners are manageable too, but plants that spread by underground runners seem subversive, sneaky and dishonest.I hereby apologize to everyone to whom I've given divisions of this plant, but the fact is that I didn't know it would do this! I planted these three Anemones over 10 years ago, and while they started getting wider, they never before this year (well, maybe a little last autumn) started sending out underground runners. Normally, I ruthlessly eradicate or confine plants that spread this way. I truly am at a loss for what to do about 'Andrea Atkinson.' It's such a great plant otherwise, long-blooming, low maintenance, big display. It's a sad thing when the gardener is afraid of her own plants.
(Edit. 9/28/08 Here's a link to the Chicago Botanic Garden's evaluation of Japanese Anemones.
28 comments:
I should be so lucky that my J. Anemones spread thuggishly!
Nice post.
Well, I have had no luck growing this plant and I think I am going to try it in almost full sun. Maybe it won't flop that way and if it dies, it can just join the rest. Where I have seen it growing well, it has been in sun. Hence, the new decision!
I have a dark pink Jap. Anemone but don't know the name of it. It too grows to a height of about 50" and falls all over the place. My super duper idea of staking is a bamboo pole and a piece of twine. Definitely not classy :)
"This Party Dress is a spaghetti-strapped silk chemise on a woman of a certain age." LOL! SO true! I'm going to follow along with your staking adventures here... I've never really known what on earth to stake these kinds of plants withe, either--without being too obvious.
I wish I had a climate amenable to growing Japanese anemones. I would totally buy 'Andrea' if I did... but even the few that I grow aren't too happy with my dry garden.
Great post MMD and "...a spaghetti-strapped silk chemise on a woman of a certain age." funny stuff! lol Seriously though, have you tried a grow thru ring for the Anemones? They work great on my Peonies.
I have enjoyed this post so much. Your humorous look at aged ladies and thugs is great. I can understand how if you pull out a plant and it keeps on coming it would be very irratating. I hope you win the fight. I have only one JA in my garden, Honorine Jobert is her name. This is its first fall and it is doing well. I have tried growing several others but they didn't take. I hope this one does.
No Japanese Anemone in my garden, but if I decide to plant some, I'm going to definitely check to see how well it 'wears a spaghetti strap dress'
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
This is not a plant for the hot South, so I didn't know anything about it, good or otherwise. It was interesting to read your characterizations---I love that image of a little party dress on a woman of a certain age.
MMD, thanks for the 'truth' about the Japanese Anemone. I have them on my wish lisy for next year but will stay away from Andrea and check the others to see height etc.
The truth is out there ... bet Mulder and Scully never thought to look at Squirrelhaven!
Oh, so the rumours about those anemones are in fact true! I haven't seen any of this here yet, but my plants are only three years old. I'm now preparing for an invasion.... ; )
Katarina
I never had problems with my anemones (I had only two) being thuggish in my last garden. And, oh my, I just bought 3 Andrea Atkinson for my new garden. Then I read transplanting them in fall meant certain death - so why were they sold in the fall? Oh, the dilemmas! I'd welcome a BIT of thuggishness, but I guess I'm in for a big experiment between now and next fall. We'll just have to see how it goes. I was also happy to see I did NOT buy a Party Dress, but your imagery was enough to make me laugh out loud.
A little gardening fear imparts respectful planting practices.
Ooooh, scary MMD. I'm afraid of plants that spread by underground runners too, although sometimes I think even THEY would have a hard time under the tangled mass of maple roots I like to call a garden.
Thanks for revealing the truth to us, MMD! I don't have any Japanese anemone in my garden right now, and I think I'll wait till you've come up with a solution before I plant any. I don't have any room in my flowerbeds right now for a thug, and my flowers need to stand up straight without any support from me:)
Japanese anemones used to struggle in my IL garden - clay, western exposure and wind kept them from being thugs and they won't grow here so I'll have to take your word on their invasive qualities, MMD.
After the 'Party Dress' comments, this woman of a certain age+ will stick to black with sleeves.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I love mine, but then again it is grown in a very large pot. I had to laugh at one Nursery worker who insisted that they would NOT perform as a container plant. I have had it for over 12 years, she was just a snooty gardener.
Jen
The Japanese anemone in my garden here in New Zealand is the bane of my life, it just spreads itself everywhere, mostly into the centre of a precious plant. I'm afraid I have taken to them with weedkiller on a paintbrush and just paint the leaves.
Hi MMD, so funny, you are on the top of your game! I will stay away from Party Dress, the floozy who is whoozy. I have Prinz Heinrich, who spreads a little, I would welcome much more. He is also a sturdy little lad, at less that three feet max. I would not want to see that kind of running root around here, no matter what kind of plant it was!
Frances
new url
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/
(please forgive the shameless blog plug, nearly more people are still going to the blogger blog than the wordpress one where the new material is. Sigh.)
I should be so lucky as to have something so beautiful spread like crazy! :) A very entertaining read.
Soooo, VS has some merit afterall?
It's always good to know the truth about any subject even though it is subjective. Your Anemone reminds me of mexican petunia here in our Florida climate only it isn't as pretty as your big bright flowers. I liked those old days of needing no support so that quality alone might entice me to try your Andrea Atkinson if only I had the right climate.
Great post, MMD.
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
EAL - sometimes thuggishness can be a good thing, but I'm just too afraid of thugs.
Layanee - my Anemones are all in partial to full shade, so I suspect it is something more than light conditions that determines the floppiness.
Flydragon - bamboo & twine beat a flopped plant any day. I'll bet the support isn't even visible by the time the plant is in bloom.
Blackswamp Girl - you should try 'Andrea Atkinson.' My soil could never be considered moist. It is so well-drained it cracks in the summer. 'Andrea' has always managed to bloom, even during the 2005 drought.
Perennial Gardener - the grow-through ring wasn't available when I started staking the Anemones (it was being used by a Lily). I'll have to get more before next summer. Those sound as if they are what I need, thanks!
Lisa - 'Honorine Jobert' is a good one, rated almost as highly as 'Andrea Atkinson,' Max Vogel' & 'Serenade,' which all got top marks at the botanic garden. I edited this post to include a link to the evaluation notes.
Carol - get at least one, they make such a great statement in the fall garden and, best of all, they aren't MUMS!
Pam - this is one of the few plants to give you Southern & Southwesterners plant envy.
Beckie - this was meant only as a warning about 'Andrea,' otherwise it's a great plant. The only Anemone I'd ever heard of spreading like this is Anemone vitifolia 'Robustissima.'
Cindy - there are some things around here that would fit right into an episode of "The X Files," but I haven't seen David Duchovny or Gillian Anderson around here anywhere.
Katarina - you've got a few more years before you have to start worrying. I'll bet they don't do this if they are dug up and divided, as the one plant I have propagated from is not doing this.
Kim - I'm sure they'll be fine if you bought them in pots. The advice is about digging them up & dividing them in fall. Poor 'Party Dress,' I've made it a laughing stock. I wonder if Adrian Bloom is going to smack me with a wet noodle?
Teresa - I guess the key is "a little" gardening fear. Trying very hard not to be paranoid.
Rose - I think I've got the solution: dig up and divide every couple of years. Don't be afraid to get one of the good ones, such as 'Andrea Atkinson.'
Annie - I could see Anemones not appreciating a western exposure. I'm not quite ready to join you with sleeves, but I'm definitely steering clear of the strapless dresses now.
MBD - from what I've seen, just about anything can be grown in a container if it's large enough. That's a good suggestion some of the numerous divisions I get from them every year.
Hi, Jean! I'm trying very hard to not let it get to that point, but I'm mighty tempted.
Frances - plug away! It's hard to move around, just ask Anna/Flowergardengirl. I'm tempted to yank out 'Party Dress' & replace it with your suggestion. I needed a pink Anemone to contrast with the white, and I though 'Party Dress' sounded perfect. Live & learn.
Nancy - be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!
Hi, Meems! I'm basically lazy, so if I don't have to stake, I won't. 'Andrea' is staying, but I will be digging it up regularly to keep it in line.
My goodness ! have you stopped thwaking, aka kicking, yourself yet girl ? Now I know what you meant in your comment on my anemone ! I just discovered Pamina this year and waited so long for those lovely short sturdy buds to open : ) It is a keeper for sure !
I understand about the fear of runners .. but I am still picking out seedlings from a RUE as in meadow .. from hell ! Yikes .. 7 years and counting in my little shady fern patch .. so basically I fear all plants that make me work that hard to kick them out of the neighborhood .. phew .. I think I have to go lay down now ; )
How disappointing the Party Dress Anenome is, flopping all over the place. I have the ordinary white ones and they look after themselves but like you mine are very good at sending runners out and i am always pulling them up to try and keep them under control. They are excellent though for lighting up a dark corner.
Garden4Joy - yes, it's sad, pathetic thing isn't it. And no, I haven't stopped kicking myself yet. I will admit that I yanked out all the Eupatorium rugosum that I lovingly planted because I was sick of weeding out seedlings from everywhere and I'm almost done pulling out the Chasmanthium latifolium (Sea Oats) for the same reason.
PatientGardener - so it's not just me & my garden! I had thought it was just that pink Grape-leafed Anemone that did that. I wish I had stuffed these in a corner. They are very much at the center of the garden where their runners can shoot out in all directions.
Hi MMD - Japanese anemones have a reputation as thugs over here too. They like moist soils. I grow mine in not such a moist soil and it seems to keep them in check.
My flowers don't read the labels re height either and regularly top 5 feet. They're planted underneath a contorted hazel which serves as a support for them. I'd like to think this was down to my garden planning, but actually it was a happy accident!
VP - moist soil might be clue as to why they are doing this for the first time in over 10 years. Last August we had way above average precipitation, basically it rained almost everyday for a month. Then we had near record snowfall for the winter, then we had a wet spring. Hmmm.... I have a vision in my mind of that red leaved Contorted Hazelnut with a pink Anemone in front of it. That might be a good way for me to grow the lame 'Party Dress.' Note to self, get 'Red Majestic' Hazelnut. Find place to plant. Move PD over next to it.
What's wrong with my 'Party Dress'? It's very upright! A rebel, maybe?
And I would welcome a thuggish Japanese Anemone! I have a bit of a problem growing them. So far, 'Party Dress' is doing well, and so is 'Whirlwind.' But we'll see if they are still here next spring. I'm not holding my breath! (Both were planted this year, and it's the THIRD try for 'Whirlwind'.)
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