Fleshy, colourful blooms in white, pink, red, purple and even green open from mid-spring, and they hold for weeks once cut for a vase. The florist’s buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus) loves sun to bloom well but hates getting too hot: give it a partly shaded spot in humus-rich, well-drained soil.
| Name | Ranunculus asiaticus |
|---|---|
| Family | Ranunculaceae |
| Type | tuberous |
| Height | 16 to 24 inches (40 to 60 cm) |
| Exposure | part sun |
| Soil | ordinary, drained |
| Flowering | mid→late spring |
The planting and care is simple and it is guaranteed to produce a great decorative impact!
Ranunculus is a bulb flower that loves sun to bloom well, but it hates it when it gets too hot.
Bulbs are planted during the month of late winter to early spring at a depth of 2 to 2½ inches (5 to 6 cm).
Depending on the area you live in and the climate you have, your Ranunculus will need to be cared for differently because it’s a plant that is vulnerable to freezing.
Ranunculus is vulnerable to freezing, so what you do at the end of the season depends on where the bulbs are growing and how cold your winters get.
| Situation | What to do | When |
|---|---|---|
| Planted directly in the ground | Cover the soil with a proper layer of mulch to insulate the bulbs | In fall |
| Region with very cold winters | Pull the bulbs out and store them in a dry, ventilated place | All winter, replant the following spring |
| Kept as an indoor plant | Cut away the yellowed leaves and keep the bulb in a cool, dry spot | Repot with fresh soil mix the following spring |
Whichever method you use, the bulbs go back into growth as soon as spring returns.
Ranunculus tubers and seed are sold mostly as named series rather than single cultivars, each bred for a particular flower form, colour range and plant size. The table below sets out the ones most often offered by garden centres and mail-order bulb suppliers, so you can match the flower to the bed, the pot or the vase.
| Variety | Flower form | Colour range | Height band | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomingdale ‘Rose Bicolor’ | Double | White flushed rose | Dwarf | Containers, edging |
| La Belle Mixed | Double | Full colour range | Medium | Bedding and pots |
| Tecolote Giants Mixed | Very full double | Red, pink, yellow, orange, white | Tall | Cutting and bedding |
| Tecolote ‘Picotee Mixed’ | Double, edged petals | Pale ground, contrasting rim | Tall | Cutting, close planting |
| Bloomingdale Mixed | Double | Full mixed range | Dwarf | Pots and window boxes |
| Bloomingdale II Mixed | Double | Broad mixed range | Dwarf | Pot production, bedding |
| Aviv Mixed | Double | Wide colour mix | Medium | Early flowers, forcing |
| Tecolote ‘Café’ | Full double | Coffee, bronze, antique shades | Tall | Cutting, muted schemes |
The florist’s buttercup, also called garden ranunculus, is a herbaceous plant that is either perennial or annual, and quite hardy because some varieties resist freezing down to 14°F (-10°C).
Native to the Mediterranean (Crete, Greece), northern Africa and South-West Asia, it bears cute, fleshy and colorful flowers in white, pink, red, purple and green colors.
Yellow-colored species are almost always called buttercup.
The word “Ranunculus” directly comes from latin “rana” which means “little frog”. This is because some of these flower varieties are aquatic. It’s also often called frogs-foot.
There are a huge number of ranunculus varieties, and many grow in the wild.
There are thousands of colors to choose from, and creating a bed of mixed colors in your garden is quite impressive.
This flower holds extremely well as a cut flower.
Snip a couple stems when in full bloom, cut the bottom to slant so that the plant doesn’t choke against the bottom of the vase, and voilà, you’re set for weeks!
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