Ranunculas

[Branching Out]

Today my paper bags full of dried up little ranuncula corms are coming out of storage for a quick soaking and then pre-sprouting. I first tried them last spring, and at the time I was a little bit intimidated about how to grow them. The corms can be kind of expensive to buy initially, so it felt extra-important to not kill them. Lol. I planted them in early March and patiently waited for them to green up. We had a long, cold, wet spring and they just kind of sat there-- but then wow. In June they bloomed, and they were breathtakingly beautiful. By mid-July the foliage dried up and I lifted them out of the ground so I could save them for re-planting. They had multiplied a LOT. I sorted them by size and was even able to give away several trays of the smaller corms. Now I hope we will be able to have a repeat performance this year!

 

[Branching Out]

Opened the first paper bag, and once I separate all of the corms there will be well over a dozen Tecolote Salmon. They sure look like small dried up tarantulas. Eleven more bags to go.

 

[Branching Out]

So I started out soaking the corms in bowls in the sink with a very slow drip of water to keep them oxygenated. That made a bit of a muddy mess of the sink, so I had to move the bowls outside instead. I changed the soaking water once, and drained them after two hours. Somehow along the way I managed to mix up a couple of the labels, which should not be a big deal. Now they are tucked in with some potting soil for 7-10 days of cool and dark. Apparently they need about 10C/50F to sprout; a little cooler is okay, but if it is too warm they remain dormant. The goal is for the roots to sprout without encouraging too much in the way of vegetative growth.

 

[meadow]

Do you happen to have any pictures of when they were flowering? I don't think I've ever seen a ranunculas. (other than a google search just now)

 

[heirloomgal]

Such a beautiful flower, I tried them a few times. Never got any to sprout! They were all too dried up in their boxes by the time I planted them.

 

[digitS']

Oh, @meadow ,

My neighbor's buttercup lawn was such a nice match for my lawn violet lawn. Then, she had to bring in the "lawn care" guy!

Many years ago, and it must have been at a time before I was checking things like hardiness zones for ornamentals, I planted seeds for a beautiful variety of Ranunculas. Tiny plants showed up but failed to bloom. It was about the same time as I began growing Dahlias but maybe a year or so earlier and there was a little learning curve on how to store those in the basement. Left on their own, the Ranunculas didn't make it thru the Winter like the buttercups that are sometimes so numerous in local lawns.

Steve

 

[Branching Out]

So sad to hear that they have been temperamental for you Heirloomgal. I have purchased the fancy expensive ones, and they did pretty well. The Tecolate did awesome (not easy to find in Canada), and even a $4 box from a discount store gave me 5 stunning plants. I would suggest that anyone who is just giving them a try start with the less expensive ones, for exactly the reasons you mention.

I had poor results with anemones; they did not sprout for me, even though they are supposed to be easier than ranunculas in that they can handle colder temperatures. I planted quite a few of the expensive cultivars and did not even get one blossom. There was a 1/2 price sale online last week, so I have a bunch of those inexpensive anemone corms headed my way and I will give them a try again.

 

[flowerbug]

i didn't know they were poisonous. we had two tiny bulbs to start with and then they kept getting chopped off so they've never prospered. they might be gone now. they were the simple yellow bulb kind.

 

[Branching Out]

The Ranunculas didn't make it thru the Winter like the buttercups that are sometimes so numerous in local lawns.

Steve

Steve,
Wouldn't it be great if they could select for cold tolerance and a bit of that tenacity that common buttercups possess, so we could just leave ranunculas in the ground and have them pop up reliably come spring? Having said that, I did have a few over-winter by accident. They were ones that I missed when I lifted the rest, and while they look good so far I do not feel confident in leaving them in the ground on purpose-- at least not yet. Perhaps they will get used to our area, and become more resilient.

 

[flowerbug]

Steve,
Wouldn't it be great if they could select for cold tolerance and a bit of that tenacity that common buttercups possess, so we could just leave ranunculas in the ground and have them pop up reliably come spring? Having said that, I did have a few over-winter by accident. They were ones that I missed when I lifted the rest, and while they look good so far I do not feel confident in leaving them in the ground on purpose-- at least not yet. Perhaps they will get used to our area, and become more resilient.

i never lifted the yellow ones, but i'm not sure how the other types would fare. if we'd not kept chopping it off it may have done fine, but Mom gets certain ideas in her head and then that's it...