A Favorite Fall Bloomer

I’d like to write a post now about one of my favorite plants called Anemone ‘September Charm’. It’s also called Windflower or Japanese Anemone. I have several large clumps of ‘September Charm’ growing in my garden. It grows in zones 5 to 8 in sun to part sun and organic soil.

It has so many assets that I hardly know where to start! It was one of the first plants that I discovered as a new gardener. I was looking for easy plants since I was a beginner but I expected that as I learned about gardening I would progress to more difficult plants (more about how that worked out another time). I don’t remember where I found my first little pot of ‘September Charm’ but I only bought one. I have divided that one plant several times since then to share with friends and to add more to my garden.

I understand that some people consider this plant to be a thug but that hasn’t been the case in my garden. It is such a tough plant though that it will survive neglect and still look good. I have some growing in an area that I’ve converted to a pathway but the ‘September Charm’ keeps coming back no matter how much I pull it out! I could eliminate it if I was determined but I like it’s persistence and the way it grows so small and cute under duress.

One of my favorite things about this plant is that the foliage always looks so nice because it never seems to suffer from pests or disease. It’s always a little late to start growing in the spring but once it is up it has attractive, healthy leaves and they stay nice well into the fall because the plant is so hardy. In fact the plant in the picture was under a foot of snow just days before I took the photo but there it is pretty and blooming.

I like that this Anemone grows in clumps. I like plants that stay put so even though the clumps of ‘September Charm’ grow wider over time they don’t wander recklessly throughout the garden.

My plants don’t need to be staked, they have a graceful upright habit. If yours were to flop then you could try another location because some more sun might do the trick although this plant does well in part shade. This is also a see-through plant which means that it can be planted in front of smaller plants or other objects and you could still see them through the flower stems which are 2 to 3 feet tall, the foliage is only about 1 foot tall.

I rarely water my Anemone’s except when there hasn’t been any rain for well over a week. They do like a nice mulch and that helps to keep the soil moist. When you decide that they need dividing then spring is the time to do it. Mine haven’t been divided for years, maybe about five years or so but they are due to be divided this spring. Otherwise as far as care goes just cut them to the ground in the fall after frost blackens the leaves.

So, all this information and I haven’t even told you about the flowers! They are a great silvery pink bloom that is very attractive to bees. I love to stand by a clump of Anemone in the late summer and listen to the bees buzzing loudly around it. The bloom lasts a long time, from late July to October. I never bring flowers in the house, myself, but I understand that they are a good cut flower.

There are other Anemone’s to choose from such as ‘Honorine Jobert’ which is a white one. I haven’t tried any of them but I’ve heard that there are many worth having. They can be used in the flower border, containers, massing or in the woodland garden. I think that they would be good up against the house as a foundation plant also.

‘September Charm’ does have one major fault though because when the flower buds begin to swell it is a sure sign that the end of summer is on it’s way. I love the flowers but I wait for them with a melancholy anticipation.