Pulsatilla vulgaris Fairy Dreams

The 'Fairy Dreams' Pulsatilla is a delightful selection of this small perennial formerly known as the Pulsatilla anemone. Elegant and hardy, this flower loves stone and well-drained soil. Its spring flowering is violet, in the form of slightly inclined pompoms that gradually straighten up. Its stems, flowers, and finely cut foliage are covered in a soft silvery pubescence. This small variety will simply adorn your sunny or semi-shaded rockeries. 

The Pulsatilla anemone, Pulsatilla vulgaris, also known as the Pasque flower or Windflower, belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. It is native to dry and calcareous meadows in European mountains, where it grows up to an altitude of 1000 m (3281ft). 'Fairy Dreams' is a horticultural cultivar. It is a charming tuberous perennial with rapid growth, forming a clump of 30 cm (12in) in all directions. A particularly hairy plant: it is covered in remarkable silvery hair that covers the leaves, stem, flower bud, and outer surface of the petals. The flower bud opens into a very double flower, 6-7 cm (2-3in) wide, composed of multiple violet petals arranged around a discreet, yellowish-green heart. The flowers bloom from April to May at the top of downy and silvery stems. Once the flowers have bloomed, the light green and finely cut foliage emerges from the stump. This coarse fibrous stump also produces a long and thick taproot that doesn't like to be disturbed.

Fairly easy to grow in well-drained soil, the 'Fairy Dreams' common pasque flower is hardy (-20°C (-4°F)). It significantly prefers calcareous soils and dislikes pesticides. Plant it in soil that doesn't retain too much water, in raised beds, rockeries, or to border a staircase, in association with small dry-soil grasses (stipa, fescue), sedums, or California poppies, for example. The flower of this anemone only opens in the sun and closes at the slightest drop of rain, oscillating in the wind like a small weather vane until the shower passes. It will appreciate a sunny exposure.