I believe I have some and they flowered much later than the other bulbs. Right now there is just a hint of foliage looking kind of like weeds hanging out. I expect them to start going in about a month.

Ah, thanks, and you're in zone 7a, a bit warmer than me. I have nothing aboveground at all yet but I'll cross my fingers. Did you plant yours in the fall? In what kind of sun/shade? I guess they'll be annuals for me in 6b, but might be perennial in 7a?

If you plant in the fall as I did, I assume you get flowers in late spring. But this Anemone can apparently be planted in the spring as well. I assume here in 6b, that would mean I'd get flowers in the late summer and fall? Or maybe in the Northeast only a fall planting is possible.

Fall planting gives the advantage of a headstart on root growth.

De Caen anemones are usually rated as hardy down to zone 7. That may be the reason for spring planting in your zone 6b. But spring flowering bulbs will not become fall flowering. Sounds like you are going to have a glorious display!

Sorry, I'm not getting it. In my zone 6b, when is the best time to plant them?

Since they are not rated as hardy for your zone it means they may not survive the winter. Spring planting would avoid their freezing beyond survival (if they had been planted outside in the fall & it was a severe winter). Does that explain?

Ah, now I understand! I just hadn't thought that through. The reason the bulbs may not have sprouted is not that they're particularly slow to sprout, but that they simply should not be planted in the fall in a cold climate such as mine in 6B Massachusetts, that spring is the best time for planting them here.

Ok, I just found the original label to the bag of anemone I bought back in November. (The wholesaler is Dig Drop Done.) Theres a map indicating appropriate planting times, and it does indicate September-November for the Northeast region of the country. But I just noticed in the instructions below that map it does say "when planting in autumn covered with straw or dead leaves." As a newcomer to the bulb world, I didn't do that.

I'm a zone colder than you, and they are not hardy here. So may be borderline for you. Here I see them offered in the spring, with tender summer bulbs.

They were not hardy for me either. I planted 50 bulbs 3 years ago and only had 5 plants grew from the spot that I planted. They were very fragile and the plants looked really stunted and short. That was the last time that I saw them. They never came back.

I called the nursery where I bought them last year, and the person I spoke to says hers do fine in a colder zone than mine, that the bloom time is "May to June." I have my doubts that I'm going to get anything but I'll cross my fingers. It's a bit frustrating that the label from Dig Drop Done suggests a Sept-Nov. planting for my part of the country, and doesn't mention that they're really only hardy to zone 7.

I had a few overwinter this year that have been blooming the past week -- I am sure only because it was a mild winter and I mulched the bed rather heavily with chopped leaves.. I plant them as annuals in spring as a rule. They need very good drainage as well, I believe.

There is another spring blooming anemone that is hardy here, anemone blanda. Not as showy as DeCaen but reliable.

Rick, I have seen many bulbs / bare root plants sold by that company, and have yet to see Zone information on any of them. I was just hunting all over a package from them yesterday as a matter of fact before I remembered that fact. I had to google the bulb name to find out. Now, if I'm looking at something new whose zone suitability is not known to me, I either google before I buy, or return the package unopened after I find out.

I saw a display of Dutch Iris under their name yesterday: and those are not hardy here in Zone 5 either. ("Dig Drop Done" is a just a slogan for Van Zyverden company. It even appears on their bare root plants, which are hardly "dig drop done," compared to bulbs.) They seem to have a corner on a certain retail market, and as time goes on, I see few other suppliers filling that niche. Packaging style may differ depending on the store /chain. I bought tulips at 4 different stores last year; and the different colors and styles of the boxes/ bags would have led you to believe the vendor was different. But when I turned them over, they were all Van Zyverden.

Thanks, Linnea56. I didn't realize that DDD is Van Zyverden so it's good to know that. And here it is April 30 and there's not a peep above ground from any of my De Caen Anemone bulbs and I guess I have to assume that they just did not make it through the winter to bloom at all. Yeah, it is pretty disappointing that the label said nothing about zone information, and that a gardner can't trust even a well-respected nursery to sell zone-appropriate plants and bulbs.

I think the packaged stuff is treated differently by nurseries as opposed to live perennials.

I have wondered before if they just order a "popular assortment" - that's what I think the big box stores do, because you often see zone-unsuitable things offered, or at the wrong time of year. Right now I see dried up irises offered: what are their chances?! Or like your anemones, in the fall.

I had assumed the better nurseries pick and choose what they want to sell from among packaged bulbs/plants, but perhaps that's too big an assumption.

If it's a "good" nursery, they would hopefully be open to constructive feedback.

Yes, I spoke with the nursery about it. A "popular assortment" sounds about right.

It's interesting that most web sites indicate that De Caen Anemone is hardy only as of zone 7 but this one from Holland Bulb Farms says "perennial in zones 5-9". I'm always amazed at, shall we say--the "diversity of opinion" and experience around garden topics?

Love the De Caen, but they rarely do well in the colder zones, IME. Pity, that. Have had 2 (out of a couple dozen planted) up at my folks' place (zone 5/6) that have managed to return for several years now. Would really like to move them, but not willing to take the chance as it is possible that each may have -- by sheer luck -- found a minute microclimate spot that has enabled them to survive.

I planted the De Caen Mr. Fokker and Bride last fall (got them from Brecks). They sent up growth in the fall and came back up this spring and are now blooming. I'm in zone 5 (Northern Michigan) and tried them on a lark as I always heard they were only hardy to zone 7. I have a friend about two miles from me who has had her DeCaen come back for 3 years. We do get good snow cover here as we are near Lake Michigan - maybe that helps? They are really lovely and last for up to two weeks in a vase. I've planted another batch this spring and am anxous to see if they will come up and bloom this year - perhaps later in the summer?

I have had one out of a package return (bloomed late April) the past 2 years - now a second one has popped up and is blooming - so I decided to waste a few more $$ and bought another package. This box has no zone information but does say to lift in fall and store inside.

I was thinking that the creeping succulent groundcover that has formed a mat over the original's spot may be giving it just enough protection to survive; so my experiment was to lift the succulent, plant the St.Brigid an inch or so deeper than the instructions, and replace the succulent over the site. Next spring will tell the tale!

The box didn't say anything about soaking the anemone bulbs first, I hope that doesn't make a difference!

Mine made it through the winter just fine in the ground, and so did my friend's. We are both zone 5. They really are lovely!