Anemone virginiana (Tall Thimbleweed)

Size: 1-3’ tall  / 1-1.5’ wide

Sun: Part Shade

Soil: Moist-Average / Adaptable

Bloom Time: Early - Late Summer

Deer Resistance: 3/5

Tall Thimbleweed is a clump-forming perennial with multi-season interest. In the late spring, it produces attractive flowers with greenish-white sepals and small yellow anthers on a thimble-like structure in the center. After blooming, the sepals fall and the center elongates, forming a uniquely shaped fruit. As it dries, the seed head becomes fluffy and persists into the winter. 

While Tall Thimbleweed prefers moist, sandy soils in part sun, they are also quite adaptable, handling even the difficult dry shade spots. It will spread slowly via rhizome and will reseed in ideal conditions.

The flowers attract pollinators, especially native bees, and it serves as a larval host plant for two species of moths. Tall Thimbleweed are typically avoided by deer and rabbits due to toxins, though they may be browsed when food is scarce.