← Bedfellow

Canada Anemone

Anemone canadensis

Canada anemone is a beautiful plant and an aggressive one: it runs by underground rhizomes into a solid colony and will overwhelm anything smaller beside it, so it belongs in a naturalized area, a rain garden, or somewhere with a hard edge it cannot cross. The flowers are clean white with a boss of stamens at the center, held singly above sharply cut, deeply veined leaves that stay handsome long after bloom. That running habit is exactly what recommends it for erosion control on a moist slope, where it holds ground most woodland forbs cannot. Bloom comes in late spring and the foliage carries through summer as long as the soil stays moist. Like many in its genus it contains protoanemonin, an acrid oil that irritates skin and gut, though the compound is unstable and breaks down harmlessly as the plant dries.

Family

Ranunculaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

1–2 ft

Spacing

2–2.5 ft apart

Light

part shade, shade

Soil moisture

moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral, alkaline

Bloom

April, May, June

Bloom colors

white

Wildlife value

pollinators

Landscape uses

border, erosion control, naturalizing

Native states

CO, CT, DC, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY