How to Grow and Care for Persian Buttercups

Persian buttercup is a corm that is beloved for its brilliantly colored and ruffled petals, tall stem, and long vase life. Persian buttercup grows best in sunny flowerbeds in full sun with at least six hours daily, sandy well-draining soil, and temperatures that hover below 90 degrees Fahrenheit.The plant grows fairly quickly and should blossom in the late spring to early summer. Buttercup is toxic to humans and animals.

Persian Buttercup Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing Persian buttercups:

• Plant outdoors in the fall in warmer climates and early spring in colder regions.
• Choose a site with full sun and well-draining soil.
• Place the bulbs in the soil with the end that looks like claws facing down, and cover them with 1 to 2 inches of soil.
• Water only when the soil is dry.
• Grow buttercups as annuals for best results; successful overwintering is difficult.

Light

Persian buttercups prefer a planting site that gets full sun (at least six hours of sunlight on most days) to grow and bloom best.

Soil

These plants like to grow in sandy or loamy soil that has good drainage and a slightly acidic soil pH.If you have heavy soil, amend it with compost or plant in raised garden beds where you can control the soil makeup.

Water

It's not necessary to soak the bulbs in water before planting to stimulate growth. But if you decide to soak, don't overdo it; one to four hours will be enough without encouraging mold growth. Water the bulbs well upon planting, and then withhold water until growth appears to avoid rot.Once the plants are established, they prefer moderately moist soil, so water only when the soil begins to dry out.

Temperature and Humidity

Persian buttercups prefer cool spring weather and will begin to go dormant once summer temperatures pass 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A layer of mulch around the plants can help to keep the roots cool and extend their growing period.They're not overly picky about humidity, though very high humidity can cause the bulbs to rot and kill the plant.

Fertilizer

Mix some compost or bulb fertilizer into the soil of the planting site before planting your corms. If growing in a container, fertilize the plants biweekly with a water-soluble fertilizer.For the amount to use, follow the product label instructions.

Types of Persian Buttercup

Multiple varieties of Persian buttercups with varying appearances are available, including:

• Ranunculus asiaticus 'Tecolote Red': This variety has deep red blooms that measure 3 to 6 inches across.
• Ranunculus asiaticus 'Bloomingdale': These plants produce large flowers in several colors.
• Ranunculus asiaticus 'Café': This variety offers bronze-colored blooms.
• Ranunculus asiaticus 'Flamenco': These flowers are a mixture of yellow and orange with red around the edges.
• Ranunculus asiaticus 'Merlot': These plants can feature both deep red-purple flowers and white flowers.

Pruning

If you are keeping this plant indoors, trim the foliage as desired to keep an appropriate shape and size. Whether indoors or outdoors, deadheading the flowers as they fade can lead to more blooms and a tidier plant. If you're growing the plant as a perennial in the garden, do not trim the foliage after blooming, Allow it to die back naturally. The foliage will absorb sunlight and provide nutrients to feed the corm and produce flowers the following season.

Propagating Persian Buttercup

You can easily propagate Persian buttercup through either division or seed. Division will give you new plants that replicate the parent plant. Here are the steps:

1. When propagating by division, wait until fall to dig up the corms with a shovel. Many of them should have created offsets, or tiny seed corms.
2. If you live in hardiness zone of 8 or above, you can simply divide the corms with a sharp knife and immediately plant the offsets in a new location. Plant them with the fingers pointed downward about one to two inches deep. Water them well and keep the soil evenly moist, watering every couple of days until you see new shoots emerge in a few weeks.
3. If you live below zone 8, Persian buttercup is grown as an annual, but you can store the corms for the winter and replant them in the spring. Clean off excess dirt and store them in a well-ventilated, cool location away from direct sunlight, in a crate or box with coir, a sustainable alternative to peat moss. In the spring, soak them for one hour in warm water, then plant them outside as described above.

How to Grow Persian Buttercup From Seed

You can also easily propagate Persian buttercup by collecting seeds. To do so, cut the flowers off the plant when they begin to fade. Note that seeds collected and grown from hybrid varieties will not come true to parent plants. If you choose to grow buttercup from seeds, here's what to do:

1. Place cut flower heads in a paper bag to dry for a week or so.
2. In a week, shake the bag vigorously to knock the seeds loose. Keep in mind the seeds are small, so take care when opening the bag.
3. Start the seeds indoors a few weeks before the final frost date in your area.
4. Sow them on top of evenly moist soil and keep them in daytime temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Keep them out of direct sunlight and drafts.
6. Germination should occur in roughly two weeks.
7. Provide a good light source for seedlings.
8. Once seedlings have four sets of true leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into other containers but don't plant them outside until all danger of frost has passed.
9. Harden off seedlings before planting in the garden.

Potting and Repotting Persian Buttercup

Persian buttercups are often grown in containers, especially outside of their hardiness zones. Use containers with ample drainage holes at the bottom.Fill a container with an all-purpose potting mix that drains well. Space the corms three to four inches apart if planting in the same container and bury them about two inches deep in the soil. Water the corms well after planting and place the container where it will receive full sun.

Overwintering

In their hardiness zones, overwintering Persian buttercups is as simple as cutting them back to the ground before winter hits and perhaps giving them a layer of mulch. In zones where the winters are harsher, you can try digging up the corms and storing them in a dry place in a medium like coir. Keep in mind, however, that this often doesn't work well. If you have Persian buttercups in containers, bring them inside to a warm location for the winter.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Several pests are drawn to Persian buttercups, including spider mites, leaf miners, and aphids. These pests will feed on the leaves and render them splotchy, withered, and with a yellowish-brown color. Keep aphids away by spraying the plant with a mixture of water and mild dish soap in a bottle. An organic pesticide can help alleviate problems with spider mites and leaf miners.

Diseases that can affect Persian buttercups include powdery mildew, necrotic spot, rust, and tomato spotted wilt virus.

How to Get Persian Buttercup to Bloom

Bloom Months

In warmer climates, the flowers will begin to appear in March. Further north, expect to see the blossoms in April.

How Long Does Persian Buttercup Bloom?

Corms planted in the fall generally bloom in early spring and continue producing flowers for six to seven weeks, while those planted in early spring tend to flower by midspring and continue for four to six weeks. Individual flowers are long-lived and have a vase life of 7 to 10 days or more.

What Does Persian Buttercup Look and Smell Like?

Persian buttercups have rose-like flowers with tissue-thin petals above lush foliage with finely cut, fern-like leaves. The flowers have a color range from bright pink, red, and purple to cream, pale yellow, and orange. Its fragrance is a mix of citrus and rose.

How to Encourage More Blooms?

If your Persian buttercups aren't blooming, make sure they have the proper amount of water—about 1 inch per week—and that they don't have too much fertilizer, as high nitrogen levels can promote foliage growth but inhibit blooms. Mulch with coco hulls (avoid if you have dogs), straw, or bark to maintain moisture levels after watering.

Caring for Persian Buttercup After It Blooms

After the blooms fade, the best thing to do if you live in the USDA hardiness zones 8-11 is to leave Persian buttercups in place and allow the foliage to die back naturally at summer's end. But if you live outside the hardiness zones, you can dig them up after they bloom and store them in a cool spot indoors in sandy medium for spotty results.

Deadheading Persian Buttercups

Deadheading (removing spent flowers) can promote additional blooming.

Common Problems With Persian Buttercup

There isn't much that can go wrong when growing Persian buttercups if the plants are placed in the correct location. The most common issue becomes curled, yellow leaves, which can mean many things:

• Plants may not be getting enough sunlight.
• Flowers are being overwatered.
• A disease is present, such as powdery mildew or wilt.

The best defense for any of these issues is prevention: provide excellent air circulation around the plants, water the soil and not the plant itself, and rotate plantings annually.

From: thespruce