THERE are many seemingly tender plants that, in fact, are exceptionally hardy, and resent cosy conditions. Pulsatillas, once classified with anemones, are a group of small beautiful flower plants clothed with long silky hairs. They can be grown in a rock garden or in pots for a cold greenhouse, and are propagated by seed or from root cuttings.
Apart from our native pasque flower (P. vulgaris), which is purple in colour, there are other forms, such as Pulsatilla vulgaris subsp. grandis ‘Budapest Blue’, a beautiful ice-blue.
There are also other species, such as P. halleri, with delicate pearly shades, and P. vernalis, similar in character with whitish flowers, delicate purple outside, with a mass of yellow stamens and sepals, and stems being thickly covered with brown silky hairs.
A guide…