Anemone nemorosa Virescens - Wood Anemone

Anemone nemorosa Virescens is a new wood anemone, a rather curious plant that is both charming and unique. Its flowering, in March-April, takes the form of green flowers resembling small palm trees, composed of a double row of finely cut leafy bracts surrounding a tiny yellow heart. This flowering extends over several weeks, effectively carpeting damp and shaded areas with an unusual yet elegant greenery. 'Virescens', awarded by the RHS, is a reliable and high-performing variety under suitable growing conditions, an anemone that perfectly embodies what could be called 'green power'.

Anemone nemorosa 'Virescens' belongs to the ranunculaceae family and it is a form of the European wood anemone, which is distributed throughout almost all of Europe, western Asia, and boreal America. This small plant forms a cushion 15 cm tall, spreading over 20 cm or more. It produces unbranched brown vertical stems that, early in spring from late March to mid-May, bear 6 whorled, finely cut bracts, forming a well-organised small, 4 cm wide tuft, replacing the usual tepals found on anemone flowers. The rhizome of the wood anemone 'Virescens' is fleshy and brittle, growing only 3 centimetres per year. It runs just below the surface of the soil. After flowering, it produces numerous slightly hairy three-lobed leaves. The flower does not occupy the same position year after year, it moves along with its rhizome.

The wood anemone Virescens is ideal as shady ground cover, in moist soil. It may be slow to establish, but will eventually form interwoven rhizome carpets that no weed can infiltrate. You can use it at the base of hedges, shrubs, and deciduous trees. Pair it with Anemone blanda, which will succeed it in flowering and require the same growing conditions. In the wild, the wood anemone develops and blooms in spring, when the trees are still leafless. It completes its vegetative cycle in summer when its leaves disappear, corresponding to its dormant period. This is the most opportune time to plant it under a tree or dress the base of hedges. It doesn't mind competition from tree and shrub roots.