How to Grow Candle Anemone (Anemone cylindrica)

Native to the Canadian province I grew up in, and every province I’ve lived in since, candle anemone is one of those seemingly unexceptional plants that I would recognize everywhere but never took much notice of beyond that.

My siblings and I used the seed fluff to line the beds of the baby mice we found.

But after doing a bit of research, I realized our mouse bed fluff was from the same plant I saw on almost every hike in the backcountry of British Columbia and Alberta.

It seemed to exist everywhere, whether as a delicate flower adding a splash of white to a wildflower meadow’s kaleidoscope of colors, or a few fluffy seeds clinging to a dry stem on a windy ridge.

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Its robustness translates well into the garden – it is a delicate looking plant that is surprisingly easy to grow. Plus, candle anemone is easy on the eyes.

It features small flowers on tall stems, floating above a sea of textured leaves, all in shades of green and white.

In my opinion, not all garden plants have to be extremely showy. Sometimes, a simple mat of green dotted with elevated white flowers is a treat for tired eyes.

If you agree, read on to find out how to grow and incorporate Anemone cylindrica into your garden.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

This unobtrusive plant doesn’t produce the showy blooms most Anemone species are known for.

However, it does feature a variety of textures, and year-round interest, with its small white flowers layered over green, deeply lobed leaves, and long seed heads that explode into woolly white fluff.

Candle anemone is also known as