Ranunculas

[Branching Out]

We have a week of heavy rain ahead of us, so I moved some ranunculus from small sprouting containers to much larger containers close to the house so they could spread out a bit. Five went in the ground as well, as test subjects to see how they fare with heavy rain. Pretty amazing root development so far, and some nice foliage too.

 

[Branching Out]

Early February was unusually cold, and in spite of that it looks like my large bins of pre-sprouted ranunculas placed in an unheated hoop house with row cover survived the cold. They've been outside for a whole month, and now they are starting to put up bright green foliage so I removed the row cover to give them extra light. Hopefully we will get a stretch of dry weather again before too long, so I can plant them out in the garden.

 

[Branching Out]

Finally got 64 ranunculas out of the bins I was holding them in, and planted them in the ground.

 

[Branching Out]

The ranuncula corms pre-sprouted in the hoop house are finally ready to plant out, so I am madly weeding the garden to make room for them. One batch was in a clear acrylic bin, which offered an interesting glimpse of the root development taking place beneath the soil.

 

[Branching Out]

After several months of waiting and watching the ranunculas are finally coming in to bloom. So beautiful.

 

[Branching Out]

The season for ranunculas is fleeting. After a few weeks of incredible (and at times almost jaw dropping) blooms things are starting to wind down.

 

[Dahlia]

The season for ranunculas is fleeting. After a few weeks of incredible (and at times almost jaw dropping) blooms things are starting to wind down.

Ranunculus are becoming one of my very favorite flowers!

 

[Branching Out]

I love them too! There are so many different flower forms available, and each one is just lovely.

 

[Branching Out]

A couple of days ago I lifted a large patch of ranunculas. I trimmed the stalks down to about 6", rinsed off the roots with a strong jet of water, and left them on the lawn to dry for a day. Yesterday I trimmed the stalks down some more, leaving just an inch or so; the roots got a hair cut too. What I was left with was a tray of nice, tidy corms. I did my best to keep them separated by colour, thanks to a map that I made while the patch was still in bloom. After a few more days I'll pack them away in cardboard boxes, and store them in a cool spot for next year.