Common Name: windflower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Ranunculaceae
Zone: 4 to 7
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: August to October
Bloom Description: Rose-pink with yellow stamens
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Best grown in organically rich, humusy, evenly moist, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Soils must not be allowed to dry out. Plants are best sited in part shade locations with protection from wind. Foliage tends to burn in hot, dry, sunny summer conditions. Plants do not perform well in the deep South (south of USDA Zone 7). Avoid wet, poorly drained soils, particularly in winter. Plants appreciate a winter mulch in cold winter climates. Plants may be slow to establish, but will naturalize well by spreading rhizomes in optimum growing conditions. Propagate by root cuttings in winter (perhaps most effective) or by division in spring.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Anemone × hybrida, commonly called windflower or Japanese anemone, is a hybrid category which includes a large number of hybrid pink or white flowered cultivars that bloom from late summer into fall (August - October). These cultivars vary somewhat in character but generally are erect, clump-forming, fibrous-rooted, woody-based perennials which typically grow to 2-3' (infrequently to 4') tall on stems clad with oval palmate toothed leaves.
Genus name is often said to be derived from the Greek word anemos meaning wind.
‘Pretty Lady Diana’ is a compact windflower which typically grows to only 16" tall. It features bi-colored single flowers (to 2" diameter) with overlapping rose-pink petal-like sepals and showy yellow center stamens. Flowers bloom on wiry-but-graceful, upright, branching stems rising from an attractive foliage mound of trifoliate dark green leaves (to 3" long) with toothed margins. 'Pretty Lady Diana' is the result of a cross between Anemone hupehensis 'Japonica' (female parent) and Anemone hupehensis 'Diana' (male parent) which was introduced into commerce as part of the Pretty Lady Series. It was discovered in August of 2005 in a breeding program (Fukushima, Japan) which was designed to develop compact, free flowering windflower cultivars having a variety of flower colors. U. S. Plant Patent documents describe this plant as Anemone hupehensis 'Pretty Lady Diana', however many experts now include A. hupehensis as part of A. x hybrida. U. S. Plant Patent PP22,332 was issued on December 13, 2011.
Problems
Watch for leaf spot, powdery mildew, downy mildew, rust and leaf/stem smut. Caterpillars, slugs and nematodes may be troublesome. Black blister beetles and Japanese beetles can defoliate plant foliage in some areas. Taller plants may need some staking or other support.
Uses
Excellent fall bloomer. Perennial borders, cottage gardens, woodland gardens. Effective when massed. Attractive with hostas and astilbes.