WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Anemone coronaria, WUCOLS IV

How often to water poppy anemone in California

In July in the Central Valley, established poppy anemone needs about 1.9 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Poppy anemone grows from small tubers planted in fall and blooms in spring with poppylike flowers in red, blue or white around a black center. It grows through the cool, rainy months and dies down after flowering. Moist soil in winter and spring, then a dry, well-drained rest in summer, suits it best.

BulbRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water poppy anemone, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for poppy anemone and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: the plant’s WUCOLS rating times your city’s climate for the month, over the area the plant covers. Skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 2 inches down while poppy anemone is leafy and budding signals that it needs water
  • Buds shriveling or flower stems staying short in a dry spring can point to thirst during bloom
  • Leaves yellowing and dying back after the spring bloom mark the normal start of dormancy, not drought
  • Rotting tubers or collapsing plants in soil that stays wet point to root rot from soggy ground
  • Gray mold or leaf spots during wet, humid spells point to fungal disease more than a watering need

How to water it

  • Water at soil level around the plants, keeping leaves and flowers dry to limit fungal disease
  • Moisten the top 6 to 8 inches of soil while plants are in leaf, then let the surface dry between waterings
  • Plant tubers 2 to 3 inches deep in fall in well-drained, amended soil, in full sun to light shade
  • Stop irrigating the bed once the foliage dies down after bloom
  • Use a raised bed or a gentle slope where heavy clay would hold winter water around the tubers

Through the seasons

Poppy anemone grows on the cool-season calendar. Tubers planted in fall root and leaf out through winter, flower in spring, then die down as the weather warms. Water matters from planting through bloom, and winter rain often covers it on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley. Summer water is unnecessary once the leaves are gone, and wet summer soil invites rot. Plants are short-lived, so expect to replant. WUCOLS rates poppy anemone low water on the north-central coast and moderate water in the Central Valley. It rates very low water in South Inland. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the south coast, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Poppy anemone does well in pots, which give its tubers the sharp drainage they need. Plant tubers in fall and check the mix an inch or two down as leaves grow, watering when it dries. Let excess drain from the holes and empty the saucer, since wet tubers rot. Pots in full sun dry fast during warm spring spells, so check them more often then. After the leaves die down, keep the pot dry through summer or lift and store the tubers.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.671.32.02.70.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.671.32.02.70.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Poppy Anemone: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.150.4–0.08––
Feb0.210.65–0.09––
Mar0.351.09–0.13––
Apr0.471.52–0.16––
May0.582.08–0.2––
Jun0.642.48–0.23––
Jul0.642.67–0.25––
Aug0.62.39–0.23––
Sep0.51.8–0.19––
Oct0.351.18–0.13––
Nov0.190.56–0.09––
Dec0.120.34–0.07––
Year4.817.11–1.84––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 6

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like poppy anemone. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

CannasCanna spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGladiolusGladiolus hybrids & selectionsmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpanish IrisIris xiphiummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCreeping ButtercupRanunculus spp. (summer growing)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAlliumAllium spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyPersian CyclamenCyclamen persicum and hybrids (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 9

Rated lower than poppy anemone in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

Star of BethlehemOrnithogalum arabicumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyIvy Leaf CyclamenCyclamen hederifoliumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySummer SnowflakeLeucojum aestivumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWhite Rain LilyZephyranthes candidalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyHyacinthHyacinthus spp.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySea SquillDrimia maritimalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyNaked LadyAmaryllis belladonnavery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyDaffodilNarcissus spp.very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyGiant ScillaScilla peruviana (Scilla hughii)very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes poppy anemone, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much should I water poppy anemone in summer?

In July, established poppy anemone needs about 1.9 gallons in the Central Valley and 0.2 gallons in the South Inland zone each week, for a plant 2 feet across. Water deeply and let the top of the soil dry before the next watering. Skip a watering after a soaking rain.

How much water does poppy anemone need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established poppy anemone needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for poppy anemone change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates poppy anemone separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, not evaluated in the South Coastal zone, very low water in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Should I water anemone tubers right after planting?

Water once to settle the soil, then wait for leaves before watering again unless the soil dries deeply. Too much water on unsprouted tubers can rot them. Fall rain often does the rest.

Why did my anemones disappear after blooming?

They go dormant after flowering, and the leaves yellow and die down. Stop watering the bed until fall. In mild gardens the tubers may return, though the plants are short-lived.

Is poppy anemone poisonous?

Yes. It belongs to the buttercup family and is listed as poisonous with medium severity. Keep tubers and plants away from pets and children who might chew them.

Can poppy anemone grow under trees?

Yes, under deciduous trees and shrubs it gets winter and spring sun while it grows, then rests in their summer shade. It grows in full sun to light shade. Keep tree irrigation from soaking the dormant tubers in summer.

What is eating my anemone leaves?

Cutworms and other moth larvae chew the foliage, often at night. Check plants after dark and hand-pick them. This damage does not mean the plants need more water.

More plant watering guides

Japanese KerriaHyacinth BeanSpotted DeadnettleGayfeatherChinese Sweet GumSweet GumTulip TreeSweet Breath of Spring

Sources