What a spring tonic.

I couldn’t resist those large, papery blooms of ranunculus I saw massed on a rack at the garden centre. The blooms, which resemble a small peony or a large carnation, are so vibrant, and vibrant is not how I’d describe my garden right now. The plant I brought home with its all too perfect to be real flowers is now at home, sitting beside a sunny window. The flowers last for ages, despite looking as delicate as crepe paper and they’re surprisingly tough. This makes them popular as cut flowers for the florist and in a wedding bouquet. They should keep me going until the daffodils and tulips appear. 

Ranunculus, and not ranunculi if there’s more than one, unlike octopuses, are greenhouse reared to satisfy the craving for colour everyone has when there’s not much going on in the garden in early spring, and they do it well. Commercial growers typically plant in fall for flowers to tempt us in late winter or early spring. With luck and TLC, they can be planted out in the garden after last frost and will continue to bloom until the weather heats up.

Like pansies, ranunculi are cool weather plants that dislike warm temperatures and they’ll tend to fade out as summer progresses. In warmer climates they’re as perennial as daffodils, returning each year. Unfortunately, they can’t take our winters and are gone after one season. They can, however, be treated like summer flowering bulbs such as dahlias and gladiolas. The tuberous root that a ranunculus develops can be dug in fall and stored over winter.

If planted in the garden, it would be best to mark the location as any sign of them will be long gone before fall. Planting in a container would make it easier to track them down, and in fact, it would be a better choice. That way you’ll get a close-up of the gorgeous blooms. Remove spent blooms to encourage more buds to pop open.

Besides trying to keep your spring purchase going outdoors, actual tubers can be bought and planted in spring, the same as summer flowering canna or calla lilies. That way they’ll grow through summer and flower in late summer to early fall when days are cooler.

The tubers are odd shaped, resembling a dark bunch of over ripened bananas, or gardener’s grubby fingers, I suppose. That makes it easier to be sure you’re planting them pointing the right way — fingers downwards with a couple of inches (50mm) of soil over them.

To attain the best plants, the larger the tubers the better. Whether in ground or in a container, don’t plant in soil that stays wet. If planted in a container, they will need fertilizing.The ranunculus family is huge, with over 500 species, and it marsh marigolds that will soon be popping up around wetlands anytime now, along with croaking frogs — if spring ever arrives. The Latin name for frog, rana, is where ranunculus got its name because many species grow in damp places.

Ranunculus asiaticus is the one that’s been bred most often to produce the varieties we see with huge flowers. The pot plants may not be labelled, but two common series are Tecolote and Bloomingdale — no connection with our Bloomingdale. Bloomingdale is a dwarf variety while Tecolote has longer stems. Because of its popularity as a cut flower, ever more hybrids are being developed, particularly in Japan.

If you can distract your eyes from the gorgeous flowers, you might find the foliage looks familiar. It looks a lot like parsley, except it can cause intense burning of the mouth and throat if swallowed, so keep them well apart in the garden or kitchen.