Well, yes.
Sponge-like tentacles that sting, often with clownfish living inside. Remember “Finding Nemo?”
Yes. Anemones.
As it turns out, there are also flowers by that name.
Anemones—the FLOWER—are cool weather lovers, which is another way of saying “hardy annuals.”
They don’t mind the cold, which is awesome for us in northern climes!
They come as
corms—shriveled-looking little brown lumps, that don’t look like anything
special in the least. I am learning that they do better with pre-sprouting, so
I did that. First, you soak them for 4-6 hours, then put them in a tray filled
with a couple inches of dirt, making sure they are completely covered. After
about 10 days, they are supposed to grow roots. At that point, you pull them
out and plant them for real this time—spacing them about 4” apart.
So, about 12 days ago
I started the pre-sprouting process. Well, today I dug around in my tray o’
dirt and pulled out several. No sprouting yet. I had them in the garage at
first, which I think was too cold. So after about 5 days I moved them to the
floor of the laundry room, which may have been too warm. They like it
cool—55-60 degrees F. They are now in the back pantry, which I’m hoping is JUST
RIGHT. I guess I’ll check them in another week.
They bloom 12 weeks
from planting, and the more you cut them, the more they bloom, so I’ve heard. I
don’t have field or garden space for them this year, but what I do have are
some great big pots, and at least 1 bulb crate. My plan—assuming they do
eventually sprout—is to plant them into the pots and the crate. As they
strongly dislike heat, maybe I could even move them to a spot that gets
part-shade come early summer so they can keep producing for me for awhile.
I started these in
hopes that I would have some blooming for my niece's wedding at the end of
April, as I am providing the flowers. So far, it’s not looking too good for
that deadline.
As always, so much to
learn. I’ll keep you posted!
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