Unlikely — Zone Mismatch
anemone (zones 7-10) does not overlap with Wisconsin's zone range (3b-6a). Growing outdoors is unlikely without significant protection.
One zone short — what would close it
Anemone is hardy to zone 7, and the warmest ground in Wisconsin is zone 6 — 1 zone short. Planted in open ground it will not survive a Wisconsin winter. To grow it here, grow anemone in a hoop house or unheated greenhouse — its modeled 1.5-zone lift covers this gap.
A hoop house or unheated greenhouse is the lift this needs. How a greenhouse changes what you can grow →
Zone math from 7-10 (plant) against 3-6 (Wisconsin). Lift modeled by crop_engine.GREENHOUSE_ZONE_MODIFIER_BY_SUBTYPE['hoop_house'] (+1.5 zones) via api/fast_sections.py Unlock Engine v2.
Anemone in Wisconsin — the short answer
Anemone in Wisconsin: hardy in zones 7–10, part sun, against a state median of ~173 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 7-10
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Wisconsin zones
- 3b-6a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 17 - May 2 – Oct 9 - Oct 21
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 140 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Wisconsin spans zones 3b-6a, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score anemone against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
Wisconsin is not one climate
A single Wisconsin answer averages 72 counties whose growing seasons are 77 days apart — from 140 frost-free days in Florence County to 217 in Milwaukee County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what anemone can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 72 counties runs 158–187 days, with a median of 173 days — a 77-day span end to end.
Measured across 72 Wisconsin counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where Anemone Stands in Wisconsin
Anemone is rated for zones 7–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. No Wisconsin county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Wisconsin winters, not about anemone.
Below the zone 7 floor
72 counties
- Bayfield County · zone 4a
- Burnett County · zone 4a
- Douglas County · zone 4a
3 of 72 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.
Zone Comparison
Anemone Needs
- USDA Zones: 7-10
- Sun: Part Sun
- Mature size: 1.5 ft tall
- Picking window: ~21 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Wisconsin Has
- USDA Zones: 3b-6a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 17 - May 2
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 9 - Oct 21
- Annual Rainfall: 28-34 inches
- Common Soils: Silt loam, Clay loam, Sandy outwash
Plant Zone Range (zones 7-10)
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Anemone in Wisconsin
The frost window
Across Wisconsin, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 17 and May 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 9 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 160-day window you can count on — up to 187 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when anemone goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 8 weeks ahead, so counting back from Wisconsin's late-side last freeze of May 2 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Florence County, not the statewide average.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
What Else to Consider for Anemone in Wisconsin
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Wisconsin growers also need to think about:
Cold winters (-30F in northern WI)
Short growing season (110-140 frost-free days)
Sandy central soils drain too quickly
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Wisconsin grower, not just anemone — is covered on the Wisconsin growing guide.
Timing shifts within Wisconsin
Wisconsin isn't one climate. In Florence County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about May 16 — roughly 21 days later than the recorded state median — so plant anemone to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Wisconsin Anemone Is Zone-Hardy
Anemone is rated for USDA zones 7–10. No Wisconsin county reaches it. Even Racine County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 6a, sits below the plant’s zone 7 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.
Across those 72 counties Wisconsin’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4a in Bayfield County to zone 6a in Racine County — 2 USDA zones of spread, which is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band anemone needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Anemone’s zone 7–10 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Anemone draws native bees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, anemone can only work that bloom inside Wisconsin's frost window — roughly 173 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 17 - May 2) and closing at the first (Oct 9 - Oct 21), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Good to Know Before You Plant Anemone
Anemone is listed as toxic to dogs, cats (all) at a mild level (ASPCA). Most listed plants only cause brief upset — a raised bed or a fenced corner usually keeps curious pets clear. Worth knowing for placement: in Wisconsin this is a one-season plant and the first hard freeze (Oct 9 - Oct 21) takes it down, so the exposure above is a summer-long one rather than something standing in the bed all year.
Recommended Anemone Varieties for Wisconsin
Wisconsin publishes no state variety trial for anemone, so we won't invent a "best for Wisconsin" list. Choose types rated to your USDA hardiness zone (3b-6a), and confirm winter survival and drainage against your own parcel.
Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
For Wisconsin-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for anemone, the canonical source is UW–Madison Division of Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Anemone in Wisconsin
When can I plant Anemone in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 17 and May 2, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 9 and Oct 21 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.
What hardiness zone is Anemone grown in across Wisconsin?
Wisconsin spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Anemone carries a range of zones 7-10, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Wisconsin site have?
A typical Wisconsin site sees ~173 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Anemone should be matched against that window, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Florence, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Will Anemone actually grow on my specific land in Wisconsin?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores anemone against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Wisconsin
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores anemone against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Wisconsin anemone averages can't show:
We read public map data around Wisconsin — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Wisconsin anemone average
Explore More
Growing guides for anemone
Explore Wisconsin county by county
Wisconsin carries 72 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for anemone there:
Where else anemone grows
Anemone's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Wisconsin in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has a growing page for 806 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Last updated: