Ranunculus are some of my favorite spring flowers! – and they have an incredible vase life, often lasting over 10 days!

In this guide I will go through everything you need to know to grow your own amazing ranunculus!

Step #1

Prepare the Soil

You can find The Backyard Posy Co. Fall Gardening Guide with all the details here!

Step #2

Prepare the Corms

• When you purchase your corms, you will notice they look like a little shriveled piece of root.
• The first step is to wake them up! This is done by soaking them in room temperature water for about 3-4 hours. DO NOT OVER SOAK THEM!
• More is not better in this case – ranunculus corms are prone to rot if they are soaked too long.
• The corms are properly hydrated whey they are nice and plump, sometimes they even double in size!
• Once the corms are soaked they cannot be stored. You will want to pick a day when you can get them in the ground pretty quickly after they have been hydrated.

Step #3

Plant!

Now that you have your soil prepared, and they corms hydrated, it is time to get planting!

• Plant ranunculus corms about 9″ apart and 2-3 inches deep.
• The spider legs of the corm point DOWN!
• They can handle light frosts, but if you expect a freeze for an extended period of time – cover with a frost cloth.
• In a mild/warm climate you can begin planting ranunculus in October and continue through December.
• You will get dozens of beautiful blooms through Spring!
• Ranunculus do not like the heat, so once the temp starts to climb the leaves will brown and the corm will go dormant again – don’t worry it’s not dead!
• The corms can be lifted and stored over the summer to be planted again in the Fall. And more than likely your corm will have multiplied, giving you 2 or 3 corms for the 1 you planted!
• You can also leave them in the ground, but they do not bloom so reliably when left in the ground over summer.

Step #4

Harvest and Enjoy

• Flowers are ready to be cut when the bud is full and squishy like a marshmallow.
• They can also be cut when they are fully open, they are just a little more delicate at that stage.
• When cutting, cut all the way to the base to get the longest stem, and to promote more blooms!
• If you are leaving the flowers on the plant, cut after the flower is spent (deadhead) – still going all the way to the base of the stem.

I would love to see how your garden grows!

Send me an email or tag me on instagram @backyardposy

–Amy

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