Growing - Ranunculus & Anemones

Ranunculus and Anemones are a start of the season powerhouse to grow - one of the most special times of the year! These blooms boast long stems in a rainbow of gorgeous pastel and bold bright colours.

Anemones unfurl both single and double petals of 3-4 inch blooms depending on the variety. A single corm can produce upwards of 20 blooms in a season if planted early and located where the heat can be kept at bay, much easier in a Canadian climate!

Italian Ranunculus open a burst of petals of full double ruffled blooms of 2-3" and with 5-6 blooms per Ranunculus corm. They grow anywhere between 1-2 feet in height, often on the taller side if planted with some distant tree coverage.

Butterfly Ranunculus shoot up 4-5 stems that can carry 12-15 blooms PER stem of airy whispy flowers. Unlike classic ranunculus, these are semi-double flowers with a soft silky texture, some varieties take on a metallic sheen! They are 2-3" in bloom size on tall airy stems of 24 inches.

An early spring planting guide for Canadian growers:

QUICK GUIDE SUMMARY

Start Italian Ranunculus and Anemones 8-10 weeks before the last frost.

Start Butterfly Ranunculus 6-8 weeks before last frost.

Soak in cold water for 2-4 hours or until corms have "plumped". Over-soaking will result in rot!

Lightly soak soil and cover ranunculus 2" below and 2" above the corms to help maintain the desired moisture while roots sprout. Store in a climate of 4-10 degrees Celcius for 10-14 days until roots grow an inch or so in length.

Plant outside in a bed generously filled with compost and a balanced fertilizer with corms an inch under the surface of the soil.

For anemones, the pointed end faces down and for ranunculus the spikes face down.

Cover with frost cloth when temperatures dip below -4 degrees celcius or -2 degrees celcius for Butterfly varieties!

Ranunculus do not like to be over watered, expect blooms for mid to the end of June!

Starting your corms

Ranunculus and Anemone corms are bought in a dried state for storage. In colder climates (zones 3-7), corms must be cleaned and dried again at the end of the season to be kept for the following year.

Pictured below are the dried corms from packaging:

Dried Corms

Starting Ranunculus and Anemones is done typically between 8-10 weeks before last frost as they are a cold loving plants that will brown and go dormant in the high heat of summer! Because winter months stretch longer in Canadian climates, starting corms early indoors allow these blooms to reach full harvesting and root multiplying before the heat makes them die out. We activate our roots for growth by soaking them in cold water to rehydrate them for 3-4 hours. Change the water often during this period! Be careful it is not longer than this time, as they are prone to rotting once plump.

Soaking Corms

Hydrated Corms

The general rule at this stage is that corms need to be surrounded by lightly damp soil to await sprouting for 10-14 days. Directional planting at this stage is not necessary but since we have had full batches of corms succumb to rot with the 1 pot method, we now plant each corm in an individual pot so that the rot does not spread to the other corms! The 6 pot packs of 6 that fit a standard 10x20 tray are our go-to's for this.

After around 2 weeks, roots should be able to be seen from the bottom slits, indicating they are sprouted and ready for the ground! They will very quickly outgrow their pots after this time, so be sure to plant them out soon before the roots bond together in their tight quarters!

PLANTING

Prepare your beds with 2-3 inches of generous compost. The nutrient levels here will determine the success of the blooms. A light balanced fertilizer can also be used.

• Plant Anemone corms with the largest spike pointing downwards about 1" underneath the surface of the soil. Anemones love partial shade to stay cool and do not require full sun to bloom.

• Plant Ranunculus with the spikes facing downwards about 1" under the surface of the soil. Ranunculus love full sun and will produce larger blooms this way. Slight tree coverage will allow the stems to shoot just a little taller in our experience!

Each variety will send up leaves until extablished enough to bloom. Be very mindful of the nighttime temperatures during this time as a temp of -4 degrees celcius is the average to freeze the shallow planted corms and can result in rotting upon warming back up. Cover the ground in frost cloth should the tempertaure forecast be less than this.

IMPORTANT! Butterfly Ranunculus have less cold tolerance and can die out if temperatures drop more than -2 degrees celcius. This is why we start them a few weeks later than the standard ranunculus varieties.