Ranunculus for spring 2023

Ranunculus for spring 2023

This week I got this season's Ranunculus soaking ready to start potting them up.

I love Ranunculus and they are amazing focal flowers for early in the season before we get any Roses, Peonies or Dahlias. But they are awkward to get really good flowers, and they are beloved by rodents and sap sucking pests alike.

They arrive with you as dried out claws, and need a good soak to get them growing. 

You could then pop them in the ground in well prepared soil, but over the years I've found that the attract every mouse, vole, squirrel or rat in the area for a feast if I do that, even if I mix in garlic granules when I plant. Now I pot them up (in module trays) and get them to plug plant size protected in my greenhouse gives me better results.

If you want flowers in April, they need to be protected in a greenhouse. I'll be planting a succession of these over the next months, so that we can have beautiful blooms for brides in late April, and maybe even some for the Pick your own in May.