Windflower
Anemone blanda
Windflower blooms from March through April.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Windflower
Plant it in part sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 6 in tall and 4 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year.
When to plant Windflower
Windflower is a fall-planted bulb: get it in the ground 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes, typically September or October across zones 4 to 8. It pays you back the following March to April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in September.
Comes in 5 varieties across 4 colors
Same plant, same care - pick the color you are growing.
Good to know about Windflower
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
All parts hold protoanemonin: fresh sap can redden and blister skin, and chewing it irritates the mouth and causes vomiting and diarrhea. per NC State and Cornell
Worth knowing
It flowers and stores energy before deciduous trees leaf out, then goes summer-dormant, so it thrives carpeting the ground under trees and shrubs. per NC State
Hardiness depends on drainage
The cold end is really a drainage question: the corms rot in cold, wet soil, so with sharp drainage Minnesota grows it as cold as zones 3 to 4. per NC State and University of Minnesota
Not the florist anemone
This hardy woodland corm is not Anemone coronaria, the taller, tender florist anemone rated hardy only in zones 7 to 10. Buying the wrong one is a common mistake. per NC State
Deer and rabbit resistant
Deer and rabbits mostly leave it alone: the same acrid, blistering sap that makes it toxic deters browsing. Resistance is relative, though, not a guarantee. per NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden
Spreads into wide drifts
Where happy it naturalizes into ever-widening drifts, spreading by tuberous rhizomes and self-seeding, with seedlings blooming in their second year. per NC State
Dried plant is far safer
As the plant dries, its toxin protoanemonin polymerizes to harmless anemonin, so dried material is far less irritating than the fresh, wound-released sap. per NC State and Cornell
What pairs well with Windflower
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
False Indigo
Takes full sun to part sun and low to moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; leafs out to hide the ripening bulb foliage as it dies back; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
Foxglove
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; leafs out to hide the ripening bulb foliage as it dies back; stands well above at 3.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
Sneezeweed
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Blue Oat Grass
Takes full sun to part sun and low to moderate water; leafs out to hide the ripening bulb foliage as it dies back; blooms in early summer, extending the bed's season; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Feather Reed Grass
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer, extending the bed's season; stands well above at 4.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Northern Sea Oats
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Autumn Fern
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; leafs out to hide the ripening bulb foliage as it dies back; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 1.6 ft, for the layer behind it.
Rhododendron
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; stands well above at 5.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
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