Pink Anemone Apennina
totototo@telus.net (Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:53:15 PST)

I have a very nice form of Anemone apennina with clear pink flowers
and beet-red foliage when young.

This plant came to me from the Potterton & Martin nursery in England
(now Potterton's) about 15 years ago as 'Alba'. 'Alba' is, however,
universally described as white with a blue flush on the outside of
the petals, including that currently offered by Potterton's. I do not
have any record of the catalogue description for the plant I
received, hence do not know if they described it as pink or as white
with blue reverse.

A web search, including the current Potterton's website, has revealed
no pink form of Anemone apennina. It's definitely not a form of
Anemone blanda masquerading as A. apennina.

It's a very good grower, having survived all these years in the duff
under an Alberta blue spruce and multiplied reasonably well, though
it has never flowered profusely. Presumably its growing conditions
are not conducive to flowering.

Does this excellent little anemone have a cultivar name? Does anyone
else grow it? Does anyone know its history?

PS: checking my library, I find that Patrick Synge says in "Collins
Guide to Bulbs" that pink forms are known of Anemone apennina. Roy
Genders refers to a mauve-pink form, 'purpurea', but mine is a clear
pink with no trace of mauve to it. Brian Mathew in both "Dwarf Bulbs"
and "The Smaller Bulbs" refers to "pinkish" forms; there's no -ish
about mine.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate

on beautiful Vancouver Island