Ranunculus are often referred to as the rose of the cut flower garden, for their rose-like appearance. They make wonderful cut flowers and are fairly easy to grow. In this post you will learn how to easily plant ranunculus bulbs for beautiful spring blooms!
When To Plant?
If you live in a colder climate as I do it’s a good idea to try pre-sprouting your ranunculus to give them a jump start since we have a shorter growing season. Click here to see my previous post on exactly how I pre-sprout ranunculus.
Although if you live in a USDA zone 7 or higher you can actually overwinter the bulbs in the ground and there would be no need for pre-sprouting!
On the other hand, in a USDA zone 6 or below you will have to store the corms inside during the winter to protect them from freezing.
Pre-sprouting ranunculus is recommended roughly 2-3 weeks prior to your average last frost date. Where I live this is typically mid May, so starting in the second to third week of April would give your bulbs time to sprout and plant with limited risk of frost.
With that said, if you’re impatient like I am, and pre-sprout your ranunculus way too early (I started mine in March!), the workaround is by using a frost guard when planting prior to your average last frost date. It’s also a little chilly here in Maine in early Spring, so hot coffee is a must for me 🙂
Can You Plant Ranunculus In Pots?
This is the exciting part, YES! Not only can you plant ranunculus in raised beds and garden beds, but you can also plant them in pots!
I’m a big fan of container gardening and plan to do even more next year for myself.
It’s an inexpensive and easy way to utilize smaller outdoor spaces, or to simply add an extra layer of impact to a mature garden landscape.
I recommend still following the regular planting guidance of spacing roughly 6-8 inches apart and 2-4 inches deep.
How To Plant?
Here’s how you plant pre-sprouted ranunculus:
- Closely examine your ranunculus corms/bulbs after taking them out of their pre-sprouting trays for signs of rot, mold or damage and remove these ones from planting.
- Ensure you have frost protection (like frost cloth) on hand if planting prior to last average frost date.
- Prepare raised beds, containers or garden beds. (Clean out debris, amend soil)
- Create rows and plant bulbs 6-8 inches apart and 2-4 inches deep. (I like to have these planted in rows spaced 9 inches apart).
- Cover with soil and water in!
- Add garden hoops and frost protection.
- Water when dry.
- Blooms should appear in 60-90 days after planting!
Here are some links to some products on Amazon I use in case you are interested! If you end up making a purchase I get a tiny commission, so thank you kindly! 🙂
Happy gardening!!
-Kate