The Ultimate Ranunculus Care Guide
A brief history of Ranunculus
With over 600 varieties of flowering annuals and perennials in the family, there’s bound to be a Ranunculus that catches your eye – and you definitely won’t miss what we have in store for you! Read more to discover our ultimate ranunculus care guide.
Sporting brilliantly-coloured voluminous blooms with crepe paper-like petals, ranunculus originate from the wetland areas of Northwest Africa, Europe and Asia. In fact, most cultivars are derived from the Persian Buttercup (R. asiaticus).
Why ‘buttercup’? Well, what most people don’t know about the yellow-coloured species in particular is that their dainty, smooth petals are highly reflective, somewhat like a mirror – they actually do glow as they bounce back light via an air gap between the mirror cells - and this helps to attract insects as well as aiding in the regulation of the plant’s temperature. They’ve gone Solar-Powered!
From the Latin for ‘little frog’, probably due to their preferred growing spots near streams and other bodies of water, these delicate beauties will leap into colour come spring. Although as they symbolise attraction and charm, we’d prefer to refer to them as dazzling little charmers!
Why Jumbo Ranunculus?
Our Jumbo ranunculus is a pack of ranunculus that consists of 10 very large tuberous roots. This means that the tuberous roots are stronger growing and far more hardy. If you miss watering them, there is no need to stress, there are more nutrients stored in their roots and they won't wither away at the slightest inconvenience – definitely more bang for your buck. Who says bigger isn’t better?
How to care for Ranunculus
Just give them a nice sunny spot with light, humus rich, well-draining soil, which errs on the side of slightly moist, and water them regularly to ensure a bumper display. Plant the corms with the claws facing down. If you’re potting them up, ensure you use a good quality potting medium (check out ours HERE) and make sure that the water doesn’t stagnate in the saucer. They generally bloom around 90 days after planting, and will continue to flower for around 4 – 6 weeks.
Ranunculus as cut flowers
Ranunculus are more than just filler flowers in the garden, vase or bouquet. They’re perfectly capable of holding their own. When cutting for the vase, wrap the individual stem bases with string before making the cut just below. This will help prevent damage to the hollow, fairly brittle stems, which may otherwise soften and split when placed in water. They should last up to seven days in the vase even without flower food.
