Ranunculus is a large genus of
about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae and members of the genus
include the buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. Most of the ranunculus
available is the showy hybrids that you see in florist shops. The beautiful
flowers which are several inches across are round globes made up of several
papery textured petals in bright, almost electric colors like red, pink,
yellow, gold, white, and picotee that are with the petals edged in a
contrasting color. The name Ranunculus is Late Latin for "little
frog," the diminutive of rana and this may refers to several species being
found near water, like frogs.
They grow 18 to 24 inches tall.
They are hardy only in warm climates, blooming there in late winter and spring
and going dormant in the summer; both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage
die back. In zones where there is frost they are grown outdoors for bloom in
spring and summer until it gets very hot. They can be grown in beds, but they
make a particularly fine show as container plants on a deck or terrace. The
most ordinary use of Ranunculus species in traditional medicines are
anti-rheumatism, intermittent fever and rubefacient.
The plants like full sun and need
moisture around the roots, but they will rot if drainage is poor around their
crowns. They are planted in late fall in warm climates in cool ones they are
started indoors two months before the last frost. Furthermore, all Ranunculus
species are poisonous when eaten fresh by horses, cattle, and other livestock,
but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison
means they are generally left uneaten.
Soak the claw shaped tubers in
water for a few hours before planting them. Place them in the soil with the
claw facing down. Start with small pots, filled with a light, rich potting
soil, and move them up to larger pots as they grow, keeping them cool at night
and keeping their soil moist. If you love unusual cut flower displays then
Ranunculus are the plant is best for you, in vibrant, exciting and perfect for
making a dramatic impact.
Moreover bring them outdoors only
after danger of frost has passed. After they stop blooming in summer, let the foliage
die down and the rubers dry out. Therefore some to have them in the bags of dry
peat at about 50 degrees till the planting time. Even warm climate gardeners
dig ranunculus up and store them over the summer. However, buttercups are
mostly perpetual, but infrequently annual or biannual, herbaceous, aquatic or terrestrial
plants, habitually with leafs in a rosette at the base of the stem.
