Anemones of all species may readily be raised by sowing the seed in pans of loam to which is added some peat and some sand. The pans should be placed in a cold frame early in April or the seed may be sown direct to a seed bed made up in the frame. Or, they may be sown under cloches at the same time of the year.
It is better to sow the seed in drills rather than broadcast and as the seeds are covered with fur, they are best mixed with some sand to ensure more even distribution. The seed should be covered with only the smallest amount of sand after sowing.
Professional growers who raise their own seed usually mix a quantity of radish seed when sowing on a large scale in the open early in summer. The early germination of the radish seed enables the rows to be noticed during hoeing operations until the anemone seed germinates. Those planting the small corms in drills will also find a sowing of radish seed useful in determining the rows until the first growth is observed.
When large enough to handle, the seedlings may be thinned and those remaining may be left to flower the following early summer or they may be lifted at the year end, the small pea-size corms dried and replanted in March.
In very exposed areas, this lifting and drying in October and replanting in spring is often done with established corms, though I have never found it necessary nor worth the trouble.
Seed in pans in a frame should be kept moist and shaded from strong sunshine during summer. Seeds of several of the species used for naturalizing may be sown under trees or in any suitable place where they will not be disturbed either when sown or when in bloom. Anemone apennina, A. nemorosa and A. blanda, may all be sown in their natural surroundings.
When sowing in the open, remember to provide some protection from winds, otherwise the fern-like foliage may, in a drying wind, become shrivelled. Those growing anemones for cutting should remove all blooms systematically, whether used for market or not, otherwise they will form seed and soon cease flowering altogether.
