Hi neighbor, I'm in zone 5/6 on the US side of the border with Ontario :-)

It depends where you are in Ontario. From what I could see from other forum members in your region, some were hit harder with the latest frost and snow than others. I already have my japanese anemones leafing out but, except for this endless rain and cold in the past few days (mid-30s & 40s F), we've had a mild spring past the mid-March snowstorm. If you had snow in April, then I think it's still early for yours to show some growth. I adore these anemones, along with asters my favorite fall flowers. Good luck!

Thank you for your replies. That gives me some hope then.

Yes we had snow in April - just on the outskirts of the Toronto area of Ontario. When the snow was finally gone in April, I noticed a few of the 25 perennials I planted last year had "heaved" from the freeze/thaw that we had going on most of the winter. I was really worried when I saw this. I am new to perennials so I googled some articles that said the frost heave can be devastating to some perennials. So I pushed them back down gently, and put down some more garden soil around them.

Most of my other new perennials are growing now, except for the JAs, bleeding hearts, black eyed susans. I love the JAs too. They are such beautiful ornamental looking plants. I hope it warms up soon to give them a boost.

Frost heave is so discouraging but hopefully some were saved by your quick action. Sometimes perennials that were planted in fall are slow to start but unfortunately I would expect the Bleeding Hearts and Black Eyed Susans to be up. Do you recall the Rudbeckia you planted since some species are slow to show in spring.

They should be fine. At my other house, I had clumps in sun and clumps in part shade; the clumps in part shade were always slower to wake in the spring, the ground didn't warm as quickly as the full sun location.

Interesting how differently these behave in different climates. They're evergreen for me.

This seems to be a constant thread at this time of year, especially from newer gardeners, which I also consider myself to be. I may have even contributed a few in the day! Goes something like this: "I planted some plant or another last year; I've been patient but it's spring and I don't see any sign of it even though I see other things...is it dead?" I cannot speak for you, but from my experience, there are many things that just haven't appeared yet. JA's do their thing in the summer/fall; I'm in Ontario too, perhaps in a warmer zone, and I've only seen barely a leaf or two in my garden at this time of year. With the eternal cold and rain, I wouldn't be pushing my head out of the ground yet either! Wait a while longer...

Re a Japanese anemone: a personal story:

I garden in Aurora, Ontario and have very largely avoided Japanese anemones, actually because I found the one below to be such a spreader (picture October 1, 2009). I planted the mixed perennial garden of the picture in 2000 and have been maintaining it ever since. That Japanese anemone is the only herbaceous perennial that was present when I converted that garden to a mixed herbaceous perennial garden.

I've been chopping out runners from the anemone, spreading into several low evergreens around it, ever since. Personally, I've found corralling that Japanese anemone far more challenging than controlling or eliminating several other perennial runners going into evergreen shrubs. However, that Japanese anemone is too useful to eliminate (for its bloom and especially for its bloom time).

Over the years, I've only planted one other Japanese anemone (a named cultivar) and that in our own small garden. It only lasted two years, leaving me to wonder whether I'd just dodged a future plant maintenance bullet.

That's good to know. Thank you.

In my experience, most fall-flowering anemones are not aggressive spreaders, which also depends on the conditions. They tend to multiply more in sunny locations. I didn't have much problems with suckering in part-sun/part-shade, where they still flower nicely while "behaving" well (the ones I have are Pamina, September Charm, Honorine Jobert, Whirlwind). Since 'Robustissima' (A. tomentosa, not technically "Japanese" anemone) is indeed invasive, I planted her in a slightly isolated area at the edge of the lawn in rather poor soil and she happily grows and flowers there without over-taking other plants. All others are so far behaving well with their neighbors in raised beds.

So I think it would be good to find out more about the specific varieties you have and also give them some shade.

Sorry Pattiz5torontoon, I didn't intend to say all fall anemones are invasives (sample of one!); various folk have previously assured me otherwise (e.g. here on GW/Houzz).

Glad for Vesfl's comments.

I've also certainly noted myself how, with perennials, it often seems that it's location, location, location, even with the same cultivar in what appears to be the same overall growing conditions in the same garden.

Interesting to me about the role of the sun with fall anemones. I love that garden (Mrs L.'s) and what I particularly love about it is that is faces due south with just about no tree encroachment on the sunlight.

Forgot to include the picture just included above. To put that fragment into a visual context, this is much of the same front garden Oct 2, 2010 (relatively late in our herbaceous perennial flowering season).

sunnyboders, your border looks gorgeous! What an amazing autumnal scene with colorful flowers.

I can't see the shape of the leaves well on the first photo but it looks that it was Robustissima, quite an aggressive spreader. If you have any other photo that shows grape-like leaves, then that's definitely Robustissima. Hope you managed to contain her in this wonderful border by now. I felt bad for isolating mine inthe corner of the yard, but she seems to be happy there and flowers well into the early days of winter.

Really appreciate the information, Vesfl. It does have grape-like leaves.

I hate not knowing the species/ cultivar/etc name for perennials I plant and have a complete list of all my plantings (a few mislabels aside). As said, however, that particular plant was there before I came.

I'm sure we all have (or at least start with) our own preferred perennials, based on more than just maintenance considerations. I've been successively talked into perennials with variegated leaves, then daylilies, then peonies and finally hellebores in more recent years. They've all worked out wonderfully. Perhaps I should adopt Japanese anemones next!

Of course, the other side of the coin is having met perennial, in the past, which I now wish I'd have never met. Re spring anemones; currently I'm regretting having planted Anemone ranunculoides, which gets spread around when working perennial beds. Thank goodness it's an ephemeral.

Oh wow, what a gorgeous garden!!

I live in a warmer zone. Here's what mine are looking like now: