You buy the plants. Nurseries around Ithaca should carry them. Almost every mail order perennial nursery should have them also.

Both my local nurseries have had Japanese Anemones plants in 1 gal size pots & larger since early September. Common varieties such as September Charm, Honorine Joubert, Queen Charlotte and the old A. tomentosa were all available. Prices were fairly high, but with some discounting later in the month, for good size healthy looking plants, most with buds on them. I would think you could find some in nurseries in NY just as easily. Good luck hunting. Leslie

I got mine from probably the worst source possible (wont name) although they did not flower the first year and had me worried they would not make it, they grew like gangbusters this year and are really flowering right now. Probably any cheap source will do because they are very robust but I would go with Bluestone. For me theirs flowered the first year.

How big do these get? I saw some in a nursery but am so space-challenged I can't afford to put in a giant monster.

They might get fairly big but they won't start getting big until mid to late summer so if you have spring plants lets say columbines you can plant them close to each other and once columbines done blooming, cut them down to the ground. Anemones will take over for the fall.
I second Bluestone, have all my anemones from them and they have decent choices.

I was impressed with these when I saw them at a Vassar college garden. Do you know if they are deer proof?

I'm very fond of Queen Charlotte, Honorine Jobert and also Pamina. I often see people worrying on the forums that they have lost their plants because they show up only late in the season. Mark the spot so you don't plant on top of them. Also, it always seems to rain on them, like with peonies, so some kind of staking might be advised. I don't seem to need staking though with Honorine which I have planted in full sun.

Queen Charlotte
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I would buy plants locally, and agree that the Ithaca or Elmira area must have nurseries that offer them.

I've tried twice planting them in the fall (when they're most commonly available locally,) and twice they didn't return in the spring. I want to try again, but will get them mail order in the spring. I have read that you'll have better luck planting these in the spring. I've found that to be true in my yard, anyways.

I have Prince Henry and Honorine Jobert growing. Prince Henry flowers earlier and is shorter. I believe they are deer proof--I have a bigger problem here with rabbits and the rabbits haven't touched them.

The leaves are very attractive and form a nice mound throughout the summer--maybe 18 inches? Then in late summer they send up delicate stalks of flowers which are tall, but can be grown toward the front of the border. I think I lost mine on the first attempt because I planted them in the back where something five foot tall seemed like it should belong.

I also initially had some trouble getting poorly growing plants established. Once I found nice healthy local ones and planted them in the spring, they took off. In fact, I tore loose some suckering shoots this spring and just stuck them in a new spot where they are now blooming. So they will spread and divide easily once established, but you won't object, they do so politely.

I just saw some blooming in a nursery. I was tempted but am afraid it's really too late to try planting now. They were not cheap, either: a little too pricey to gamble with.

Are they normally a more expensive plant?

Are they hard to find in spring? I did a lot of nursery surfing this spring and don't remember seeing any then.

Around here one usually finds plants for sale at the time they bloom...probably because that's when they sell. (Rather like puppies at 8 weeks of age!) You'll have a much harder time finding Japanese Anemones in Spring! For one thing, they emerge very late...in early summer for me! Boy are they nice now though!

I have found mine to be deer 'proof'. The varmints will eat plants 5 feet away and then walk right next to the anemone, but won't even look at it.

Gardenbug,

Thanks for mentioning the staking. Mine is in am sun with dappled shade the rest of the day. At present it is blooming at 4.5 feet, but I have to stake. Thought maybe I placed it in the wrong spot.

Will definitely be on the lookout for more since the deers ignore them and have done so since they were placed in the gardens. Got mine at a flea market for $2.00, but doubt that will ever happen again. :) Nice white with lilac coloured back on the petals.

This isn't completely animal proof. Something continually chomps at the beautiful plant I bought my sister and she lives in deer country. Not sure what got it, but we suspect deer since they are frequent garden visitors and the damage is similar to what she sees on other plants. Honorine Joubert gets over 3 feet tall for me in sunnier spots, so if you're space challenged, buy smaller varieties. They're mostly leaves - the actual flower stems are quite skinny. Great plants for fall and long blooming. Mine have been going strong since late August. I'm not terribly fond of Pamina. So I may try something else with more impact.

Oh my, I wonder what it is about Pamina that Nancy doesn't like! I love the intense pink colour at this time of year. I will admit that in its rather shady and windy spot it does tend to flop. I should correct that!

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Hi gardenbug - you nailed it! Very floppy plant. I think also it's because the dark pink flowers don't show up as well as I'd like them to where I have them planted. I need to move them. Mine are a little deeper pink than the way your picture posted.

I didn't want to discourage people from trying these wonderful fall anemones, which many people find easy to grow, so when I first posted here I did not mention that it took me 3 tries and 5 plants to get one good growing healthy Honorine Joubert. Anyway, when someone brought up the cost of these, I thought that I had better tell about my experience. I actually did tell a bit of this story here on the forum a few years back.

All plants were bought in the early fall, the only time I have ever seen them available here locally. I have very heavy clay soil which tends to stay wet, so finding the right spot &/or creating the right soil conditions can take awhile for some plants.

Here's the story: I bought 3 plants in 1 gal containers one year in early September. I did not plant them in a grouping, but separately around the yard, wetter & drier and sunnier to shady. All survived the winter but were smaller the next year, with only a few blooms. The next year they were smaller yet and one gave up the ghost in mid-summer. I replaced it that fall and tried a fourth location. The following year another one died and only one of them bloomed. I again replaced the dead plant, trying a 5th spot. No better luck there.

After another year passed, I pulled out 2 of the sickly looking things, leaving only the best one. For two years it lived, but sent out exactly 1 bloom in 2 seasons. The maple-type leaves made a nice ground cover! And I am nothing is not persistent.

Anyway by accident the solution was discovered. One year DH thought they were Maple tree seedlings and started digging them out with a shovel. I saw him in time to save some of the roots and patted them back into the ground rather casually. They promptly took off and now cover a patch about 18 inches across and 3 foot long wrapping around some other plants. Bloom just fine, never flop, & pretty as a picture.
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My HJ - three plants - get about three feet tall. They have good form and stay upright. My "Party Dress" anemones are a bit sprawly indeed. I love these plants. Mine bloomed the first year. They are in full sun.

I too have had a difficult time getting them to establish. I had tried spring planting ones I bought mail-order (the Black Walnut tree probably did in the first pair), lost those, and tried a couple bought in fall from nurseries with little luck. A couple of years ago I bought one that was on a sale rack because it had lost its tag. That's the one (a single pink) that has taken off and has claimed several square feet of real estate all for itself, in a fairly tough spot no less (where Pamina died). I'll still love it no matter how far it travels.

My experience is quite different. I have never seen them for sale in the fall and until the last year or two I have never grown them.

I buy them in the spring at local garden club sales and doubt I have paid more than $3 for a plant. I have about 5 now - some named, some not, including Honorine Joubert. I plant them is semi-shade to full shade. I don't think I have lost one and all 5 bloomed their first fall.

Based on my readings, they tend to be a bit invasive, spreading their seed easily. You might try collecting some seed and planting that.

Because of the size, and the invasiveness, I decided to plant 3 of them in the woods along paths. They get some sun, but must compete with other natural plants. I picked sites that got some direct sun, but very little.

Is it the spring planting??

I bought Robustissima as a bare root plant from a mail-order company. It's now in its second year and blooming for the first time. I've got damp, heavy soil which probably made it struggle a bit more. It's not mature yet by any means, but I'm enjoying it.

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Janet's Garden

I notice you are virtually all in zone 5 or higher. I just bought a plant and am zone 4 and wonder if this was too optomistic? It was a bit pricey so I hope not! Has anybody had luck in zone 4? (Actually these days my zone 4 virtually never gets down to the -30 which it used to...the up side of global warnming!)

Deborah

In our climate they are kept to the back of the garden as they tend to take over and many gardeners consider them weeds. I like them and have them covering a bank which they have filled in over the last two years. Al

Deb, I'm in Zone 4, although I do have a protected yard. I bought Robustissima to be on the safe side, but most Japanese anemones are supposed to be hardy in our zone. Mulch it with a few inches of leaves if you're nervous.

Janet's Garden

I need advice on planting amemone tomentosa--I'd like to put this in a spot behind some boxwoods, that faces east and gets about 1/2 day of sun. Does this sound like it will work? I know the stuff can be rampant, but a neighbor has a stunning bed of these (facing south, however) and they have been blooming their heads off for 2 months!

Deb I have Robustissima. I've had it for 2 years, though last year was quite mild the winter before that was really nasty, very little snow cover and lots of freeze thaw cycles. It's still here and was beautiful this fall.

BK, it sounds like a good position to me. Mine only get partial sun.

Janet's Garden