Anemone Blanda
greentooth
Posts: 30
Hi Everyone
Im posting this because I have a couple of questions that are bothering me. I bought around 1000 Anemone Blanda 'Blue Shades' in the late December bulb sales online, the bulbs looked great they arrived along with crocus, tulips, daffodil and some others that I got cheaply. I planted my Anemone Blanda into a raised bed that had been newly filled with fresh compost. Now its late February and my late planted crocus are flowering away and the tulips, daffs and other bulbs are all making good headway but when I dug up a few Anemone bulbs to see why there were no sign of sprouts I found they were a squidgy disgusting mess....to my total horror Iv found that every single one I have dug up so far has rotted like this and so my dream of a blue carpet has been flushed down the pan...why did my mass planting fail like this ? Was it due to the late planting ? ....some Anemone Blanda 'White Splendour' that I planted in early October into terracotta pots is doing marvellously well and are coming into bloom....is it a timing thing with this type of anemone ?
On to the second part of the conundrum...I was looking on another bulb suppliers web site today (very reputable supplier) and to my amazement they had Anemone Blanda 'Blue Shades' for sale now my hopes of a blue carpet have still not left me, so I rang them up to ask if it was ok to plant anemone blander in late February, to which the lady said yes that it is perfectly ok to plant anemone blanda at this time of year, so not to be beaten by my rotting bulb ordeal, I have ordered 500 more corms....is my blue carpet dream going to become a reality ? Or is planting them now a total waste of time ? and why the rot in the first place, my site is well drained and in dappled shade ? There seems some confusion on the net so to clarify Im interested specifically in Anemone Blanda.
Last edited: 28 February 2017 17:08:04
Posts
the only time I had trouble with any sort of late planted bulbs was when it turned cold and wet immediately, before they started growing, they rotted instead. A. blanda doesn't like heavy wet soil.
The seller would tell you it's OK to plant now, they want rid of them.
Last edited: 28 February 2017 17:55:13
In the sticks near Peterborough
Ummm so A.blanda cannot be planted now then ?
Anything can be planted, when they come, plant them, they don't improve with being out of the ground. Naturally they are never out of the ground.
I think I'd soak them for an hour or two to rehydrate, then plant them somewhere well drained. Many people (including me) plant cheap offers very late and get away with it. But, as you've found, it's not 100% reliable.
A bed full of fresh compost could be too moisture retentive.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Plant now as long as the soil is not over wet or frosted over. Ensure you apply compost depending on your soil with grit for a well drained soil. I planted over 80 Anemone bulbs last April and they came up in July to give a beautiful carpet of blue in my boarder
Thanks greenfingers steve - That makes me feel better knowing you were able to get them growing so late - I will plant them in large celled seed trays to start them somewhere dry then move them into position once they start grow.