Anemone 'Robustissima'
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HEADS UP. THIS ONE SPREADS.
This anemone takes a year or two to settle in, then spreads by underground runners into a large patch. Give it room or plant it where a colony is welcome, and keep it out of woodlands, ravines and other natural areas.
Anemone 'Robustissima': The Toughest Pink in the Fall Border
Mauve-pink flowers on tall stems, coarse grape-like leaves and cold hardiness that laughs at winter. 'Robustissima' sounds like an opera singer and hits every high note. VERY ROBUST. VERY MUCH.
Plant Characteristics:
- Botanical Name: Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima'
- Common Name: Grape-leaf Anemone, Windflower
- Height: 90â120 cm (3â4 ft)
- Spread: 60â90 cm (2â3 ft), spreading into colonies
- Flowers: Single, mauve-pink, about 6 cm (2.5 in) across, with showy yellow stamens
- Bloom Time: Late summer to fall (September to October)
- Foliage: Coarse, deep green, grape-like leaves with felted undersides
- Features: Very cold hardy, rabbit resistant, fluffy seed heads for winter interest
Where to Plant: Give it space: the back of a large border, a woodland edge, a slope, or a spot where you want a big sweep of fall colour. It fills ground fast, so keep it away from small, delicate neighbours. It tolerates clay and alkaline soil.
Companion Plants: Give this vigorous, hardy anemone room at the back of a sunny or part-shade bed with spring and summer partners in front. Paeonia 'Pink Hawaiian Coral' opens coral-pink peonies at 90 cm in May and June. Lilium 'Golden Matrix' adds upward-facing gold lilies at 40 to 50 cm in June and July. Hemerocallis 'Awesome Blossom' brings rose to apricot daylilies at 60 cm from July to September. Festuca 'Elijah Blue' edges the bed with powder-blue tufts at 20 to 30 cm.
Plant Care: Plant in moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. It grows best in part shade but handles full sun if the soil stays moist. Once established, it copes with an occasional dry spell. This is a vigorous spreader by underground runners. Divide every couple of years in spring and dig out runners where you don't want them. Leave the seed heads up for winter interest if you like, then cut everything back in early spring.
History: Anemone tomentosa comes from the mountains of northern China, and its species name refers to the soft, woolly hairs on the leaf undersides. 'Robustissima' has long been grown in colder gardens as the toughest of the fall-blooming anemones.
Final Thoughts: Fluffy seed heads stick around for winter, so the show goes on. Deer and rabbits sit this one out. THE ARIA NEVER ENDS.