By Annella
Northamptonshire,
United Kingdom 
Japanese Anemone........I wish I knew where I was going wrong with these as I love them! They struggle to stay alive for me and are definitely not thuggish. I have tried every aspect in my garden now and am still failing. Last year I bought one with tall, pale pink flowers for the new garage border. It's in a nice sunny spot with very good soil (not my usual concrete clay) and was watered regularly during the hot spell but still no flowers (or lush leaves really). My remaining ones are in pots now so they never reach their full potential. I am gardening on neutral heavy clay which has been improved over the years.
28 Aug, 2013
Answers
Mine are the same and spread everywhere. They are, for me, the start of autumn. I love them in both white and pink. I also grow the variety called Wild Swan in pots and they flower from May to October. They are lovely. It is strange how some plants, that grow like weeds for others, just will not grow for some. Hollyhocks I just cannot grow and I know for some gardeners they are weeds.
28 Aug, 2013
I would love to be able to get rid of my common pink ones to make room for a lovely white one but they don't want to go...
28 Aug, 2013
These plants actually prefer dampish soil, or at least soil that doesn't frequently dry out, and a shadier spot, move it somewhere in your garden that has those conditions.
28 Aug, 2013
Thanks all. I will try to really improve the clay in a shadier spot as I suspect my dry summer soil could be the problem after reading your comments.
29 Aug, 2013
Try them away from the full sun. I can't see immediately where you're going wrong, as what you've described seems ok, really. I find they dry out quickly in pots and even in the garden until well established.
28 Aug, 2013