The Anemone coronaria is native to the Mediterranean area. It is a perennial from the Ranunculaceae family and is commonly named crown windflower, poppy flowered anemone or garden anemone.
The name Anemone comes from the Greek word anemos which means wind. Coronaria is Latin and means crown.
The Anemone coronaria ‘De Caen Hollandia’ is a tuber and perennial in the Dutch climate. In colder regions this is an annual. The tuber looks more like a thickened root and it is hard to tell which side is up. When in doubt you can plant it on its side. The tuber slowly grows bigger.
You can plant the tubers in fall and spring. By soaking the tubers in a bowl of water for about 12 hours before planting you will get a better bloom. The roots will be able to penetrate the tuber skin more easily this way. If you plant the tubers in spring a few weeks apart you can enjoy the bloom longer. If you plant the tubers in the autumn or if you leave them in the ground during the winter, they will flower in April/May. If you remove the spent flowers the crown windflower will bloom longer.
Fairly quickly after bloom the leaves die back and at the end of August they reappear. That means that this is a wintergreen plant that newly emerges every year. After several years the tubers disappear and you will have to plant new ones.
I do not dig up the tubers and let nature take its course. They have a sheltered and sunny spot and live through the winter nicely.
You can use the flowers as cut flower and the plant is good for rock gardens and moist areas. Because the leaves die back after bloom it is nice to combine the crown windflower with plant that emerge later in the year.
Each evening the flowers close and they only go wide open if it is sunny.
Attracts bees: no
Characteristic: newly emerging every year
Deer resistant: yes
Exposure: sun/part shade
Flower color: red
Flowering time: April – May
Foliage color: green
Fragrant flower: no
Hardiness: 14 F (-10 ºC)
Height: 12 inches (30 cm)
Soil: normal/moist