Anemone nemorosa Marie-Rose

Anemone nemorosa Marie-Rose is a beautiful variety with pink flowers of the Wood Anemone.  This variety, discovered in 1978 on the eastern slope of the Picos de Europa in northern Spain, stands out for its large, beautifully shaped and coloured pink-lilac flowers. They bloom early in spring, forming a beautiful combination with the dark olive-green foliage. An excellent perennial for slightly moist woodland, it naturalises over time, eventually forming a sumptuous and long-lasting groundcover. 

Anemone nemorosa 'Marie-Rose', belongs to the buttercup family. It is a cultivar derived from the Wood Anemone, a wild species distributed throughout most of Europe, western Asia, and northern North America. This small rhizomatous plant forms a beautiful carpet 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6in) tall, spreading over 40 cm (16in) or more. It produces unbranched vertical stems carrying whorls of three finely divided bracts in spring, from late March-April to mid-May, and at their centre a single flower, 5-6 cm (2in) in diameter. The flower has several oval and tapering tepals (sepals resembling petals), pale pink in colour, becoming darker pink over time. The throat is adorned with numerous yellow stamens. The flower opens in the light and follows the direction of the sun. It closes in the evening or in case of rain, avoiding damage from water by gracefully leaning to one side. All the flowers are oriented in the same way, creating a particularly harmonious carpet. The rhizome of Sylvie Anemone Marie-Rose is brown, fleshy, and brittle, growing only about 3 centimetres (1 inch) per year. It runs just below the surface of the soil. It produces numerous leaves with three finely divided leaflets, dark olive-green in colour, slightly hairy. The flower does not occupy the same position year after year, as it moves along with its rhizome. The foliage tends to disappear in dry summers. 

Wood Anemone Marie-Rose, like all its relatives, is ideal as a groundcover, in shady areas, in more or less moist soil. You can use it at the base of hedges, bushes, and deciduous trees, as well as in shaded borders. Combine it with primroses, botanical narcissus, Brunerra, and blue, violet, white, or pink Anemone blanda, which will follow its flowering and require the same growing conditions. In nature, Wood Anemone develops and blooms in spring, while the trees are still leafless. It finishes its vegetative cycle in summer when its leaves disappear, which corresponds to its dormancy period. This is the most suitable time to plant it under a tree or the base of hedges. It is not affected by competition from the roots of trees and shrubs.