Anemone nikoensis ("Ichirinso")

Japanese name: イチリンソウ （一輪草）
Scientific name: Anemone nikoensis

[Overview]
A perennial growing at the edges and on the floor of deciduous broadleaf forests, sometimes also seen in grasslands, often forming colonies.
The rhizome creeps and spreads sideways.
Basal leaves arise from the rhizome.
The basal leaves are once- or twice-ternately compound, the leaflets are deeply pinnately divided, and the segments are notched.
The basal leaves appear in autumn, and the aboveground part dies back in early summer of the following year, making it one of the so-called spring ephemerals.
The flower stalk grows 20–30 cm tall, and the leaves on the stem are whorled, 3 at a time.
The stem leaves are ternately compound, with deeply pinnately divided leaflets and petioles.
A solitary flower is borne at the tip of the stem.
The flower is about 4 cm across and opens upward, with 5–6 elliptic white sepals that look like petals.
The outside of the sepals is tinged slightly with red.
There are many stamens, with yellow anthers.
There are also many pistils.
The fruit is a narrowly ovate achene with fine hairs.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
When growing from seed, sow immediately after collecting.
It prefers sun to partial shade and fertile, well-drained, slightly moist soil.
In poor sunlight, flowering is poor.
It dislikes heat and dryness, so keep direct sunlight off the base of the plant.
For potted plants, move them to a cool, shaded place from about the time the leaves die back in early summer, and otherwise keep them in the sun.
It is very cold-hardy, but care is needed against freezing.
For planting in the garden, the area under deciduous trees is suitable.
For plants in the garden, watering is unnecessary unless the soil becomes extremely dry.
For potted plants, during the growing season water when the soil surface dries so that the soil never dries out.
After dormancy, water only enough to keep the soil from drying out too much.
Fertilize in spring and autumn with fertilizer placed on the soil once a month or liquid fertilizer once a week.
Pests and diseases include southern blight, anthracnose, gray mold, aphids and slugs.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from the flowers blooming one at a time.

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