Ranunculus Beauty
Often referred to as the “spring rose”, ranunculus are hard not to fall in love with. With so many wonderful cut-flower qualities —tall stems, double ruffled blooms, light fragrance, high productivity, and their wide color range—it’s no wonder these flowers have become one of our most popular on the farm.
Ranunculus flowers are planted outside as corms (much like a bulb but more shaped like a small octopus) in our very early spring/late winter here in Indiana. They are tender flowers and need extra protection from cold temperatures. We pre-sprouted our ranunculus this year in late February and planted them out in the garden field under caterpillar tunnels with Agribon frost cloth on St. Patrick’s Day. We left them covered for several weeks until late April when the temperatures started to rise. Then when we hit that 80-90 degree spell in early May, we covered them with shade cloth over the low tunnels. And the first blooms showed up around the 20th of May. These beauties will continue to bloom for a few weeks, hopefully until mid-June, when summer temperatures show up more regularly.
VARIETIES
Below are the ranunculus flowers we have growing in 2022:
Amandine
Large double-flowering heads in soft shades of rose, pink, yellow, lemon, and white sit atop long, strong stems.
Tecolote
Taller stems with darker centers and lacy foliage ranunculus flowers. Blooms range from solid to a picotee/multi-colored with peach, rose, pink, yellow, and white tones.
VASE LIFE TRICKS
Ranunculus have a long vase life, some lasting more than 2 weeks. We try to harvest once the buds are in “marshmallow” stage before they’ve really bloomed. Many customers prefer the flowers to be open more but those marshmallow buds will last the longest.
To prolong vase life, try putting your flowers, vase and all, in the refrigerator overnight or when you’re not home. Please remember to clip the stems with a change to the vase water every couple of days and add more flower food to prolong the vase life of ranunculus and keep the petals vibrant and richly colored. You can read more tips for longer vase life and general flower care here!