Ranunculus Perennial

Perennial herbaceous plants with fibrous roots. Stems are erect, stout, hairless or nearly so. The basal leaves are reniform, long petioled, and 3-parted. The upper leaves are sessile or short-petioled. Flowers are few, sepals 5, petals yellow, stamens are 10-many, pistils many, fruit is an achene. This plant was formally known as Ranunculus ficaria. Insect, Disease, and Other Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Slugs and snails may appear. When planted in a garden, plants tend to spread invasively into adjacent areas. Exercise caution in planting this perennial in the landscape. Some cultivars are reportedly less aggressive. Ranunculus sceleratus is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft). It is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is. Seed head of Ranunculus showing developing achenes Buttercups are mostly perennial, but occasionally annual or biennial, herbaceous, aquatic or terrestrial plants, often with leaves in a rosette at the base of the stem. In many perennial species runners are sent out that will develop new plants with roots and rosettes at the distanced nodes.

1. Ranunculus Uses
2. Ronculus
3. Ranunculus Flowers Perennials
4. Ranunculus Perennial Uk

Creeping buttercup, a King County Weed of Concern, is a low-growing perennial with creeping stolons that's found in rural and urban areas throughout King County, such as pastures, farmlands, natural wetlands, city gardens, and lawns. Stems reach one foot tall. Leaves are dark green with pale patches, divided into 3 toothed leaflets. Leaves and stems are both somewhat hairy. March-August, produces bright yellow, glossy flowers with usually 5 (up to 10) petals. Reproduces by seed and vegetatively via long, branching stolons that root at the nodes. Stolon growth starts in spring, peaks in late summer. This plant is extremely aggressive and toxic to grazing animals.

Legal status in King County, Washington

Creeping buttercup is not on the Washington State Noxious Weed List. However, in King County, this non-native invasive buttercup species is classified as a Weed of Concern. For more information see Noxious Weed Lists and Laws.

The King County Noxious Weed Control Board recommends the prevention of spread of this species to uninfested areas and its control in protected wilderness areas, natural lands that are being restored to native vegetation, and in pastures that are being grazed.

Identification

• Perennial with short swollen stems and creeping stolons that root at the nodes
• Can be distinguished from other buttercup species such as tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris) by the creeping stolons
• Can grow up to one foot tall but are often shorter in mowed areas
• Leaves are dark green with light patches and are divided into three toothed leaflets, the central leaflet on a stalk
• Pale patches on the leaves distinguish creeping buttercup from similar looking plants such as hardy geraniums
• Basal leaves have long petioles (stalks), leaves higher up the plant have shorter or no petioles
• Leaves and stems are somewhat hairy
• Flowers usually have five (sometimes ten) glossy, bright yellow petals and grow singly on long grooved stalks
• Bloom time is usually from March to August
• Fruits are clusters of 20-50 achenes on globe-shaped heads. Achenes have a short hooked beak and are light brown to blackish brown when mature with an unevenly pitted surface

Impacts

Creeping buttercup's competitive growth crowds out other plants, especially in wet soils. One plant can spread over a 40 square foot area in a year. Creeping buttercup also depletes potassium in the soil and so can have a detrimental effect on surrounding plants. Because creeping buttercup can tolerate heavy, wet soils, it can be a particularly bad problem on well-watered lawns, wet meadows and poorly drained pastures. In addition to invading wet grassy areas, creeping buttercup is reported as a weed of 11 crops in 40 countries.

Fresh buttercup plants are toxic to grazing animals, who can suffer from salivation, skin irritation, blisters, abdominal distress, inflammation, and diarrhea. Fortunately, buttercup has a strong, bitter taste so animals generally try to avoid it if more palatable forage is available. Also, the toxin protoanemonin is not very stable and loses its potency when dry, so buttercup is not generally toxic in hay. Unfortunately, livestock occasionally develop a taste for buttercup and consume fatal quantities. It is safest to keep populations of buttercup under control on grazed pastures and offer plenty of healthy forage.

Growth and reproduction

Creeping buttercup spreads by seed and by long branching stolons that root at the nodes, forming new plants. In more established woodland and grassland communities, this plant increases mostly through stolons unless the soil is disturbed. In dry conditions, flowering and seeding is more prevalent and in wet conditions, stolons are more plentiful. Seeds can germinate and seedlings can grow under water-logged conditions.

One of the reasons creeping buttercup is so competitive is that its stolons respond to the environment. Under favorable conditions, plants form more stolons through branching. However, when nitrogen is limiting, stolons tend to be longer and unbranched allowing longer distance “sampling” of a number of potential sites until more suitable locations are found. When favorable conditions are discovered, stolon branching resumes, allowing rapid local colonization to take advantage of the available resources. In general, short stolons are produced in dense turf and much longer ones appear in open fields or woodlands.

Depending on the temperature, creeping buttercup either overwinters as a rosette or dies back to ground level. In either case, the nutrients stored in the short swollen stem produce rapid growth in spring, between April and June. Stolons grow from the leaf axils in spring and summer and growth peaks in late summer. Stolons connecting parent and daughter plants usually die off in fall.

Flowers can appear from March to August with seeds soon after. Each plant produces from about 20 to 150 seeds. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for at least 20 years, and up to 80 years, especially under acid or water-logged conditions. Seeds are dispersed by wind, water, birds, farm animals, rodents, and other animals by adhering to them with the hooked seeds.

Creeping buttercup grows particularly well in moist or poorly drained situations, although it will also colonize sandy and gravel-based soils with sufficient moisture. Creeping buttercup also has some tolerance to salinity and is found along beaches, salt marshes and the margins of tidal estuaries. In woodlands, this buttercup is mainly restricted to clearings, forest margins and paths. It is frost tolerant and will survive moderate droughts. Creeping buttercup is tolerant of trampling, compacted soils, and grazing.

Control

Be sure to have a long-term plan to ensure success, protect native and beneficial species while doing the control, and start in the least infested areas first and then move into the more heavily infested areas.

Prevention and cultural control

• In lawns and pastures, promote healthy grass by overseeding, fertilizing as needed, and not over-grazing. Adding lime can improve grass health and keep buttercup from re-establishing. However, lime won’t control buttercup that is already well-established.
• It also helps to improve soil drainage. Reduce compaction by aerating and avoid trampling when soils are wet.
• Clean mowers and other equipment to avoid spreading buttercup seeds to un-infested areas.

Manual

• Dig out with a sharp trowel or fork-type tool, removing all of the runners, roots and growing points. Digging is most effective from fall to spring while the soil is moist and roots won’t break off as much.
• Cultivating or incomplete digging may increase the buttercup population because it can sprout from nodes along stem and root fragments.
• Disturbance of the soil can increase seed germination. Seeds stay viable for 20 years or more and the number of seeds in infested soils can be immense compared to the number of plants present, especially in long-term pastures and woodland ecosystems.

Mechanical

• Creeping buttercup’s growing point is at soil level, so plants resist mowing and quickly re-sprout when cut.
• Regular cultivation can kill the buttercup but plants buried by cultivation can grow back up through deep soil and re-establish themselves and long-lived seeds in the soil can germinate and re-infest the area once cultivation ceases.

Chemical

• Herbicides can be used if allowed and appropriate for the site and land use. Follow all label directions to ensure safe and effective use.
• Glyphosate (e.g. Roundup, Aquamaster) can be applied to actively growing plants before they seed. Keep spray off of grass and other plants. Re-seed or re-plant bare areas after removing buttercup to keep it from re-infesting the area.
• Broadleaf herbicides can be applied over grassy areas infested with creeping buttercup to selectively kill the buttercup and not the grass. Products containing the active ingredient MCPA are most effective on buttercup. Metsulfuron (Escort, Ally) is also effective but can harm some grasses. Follow label directions on timing and rates.
• It will probably take at least two or three applications to eradicate creeping buttercup because of the seed bank and because some mature plants will generally recover.
• Monitor the treated area for re-growth and pull up any new seedlings before they establish runners.

Additional information on creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)

• Oregon State University Extension Bulletin (external link)
• Photos and Distribution from the University of Washington Burke Museum (external link)
• Alaska Natural Heritage Program (external link)
• USDA-NRCS Plants Database (external link)
• Down Garden Services : Creeping Buttercup Control (external link)

What to do if you find this plant in King County, Washington

Because creeping buttercup is so widespread, property owners in King County are not required to control it and we are not generally tracking infestations. We can provide advice on how to control creeping buttercup, but there is generally no legal requirement to do so.

Creeping buttercup photos

By Michael MacCaskey

Brilliantly colored flowers are 'ranunculus' chief attraction, and they are indeed special. They most often come in multiple layers of delicate, crepe paper--thin petals, looking like an origami masterwork. Ranunculus (R. asiaticus) excel in southern and western gardens, and make terrific container plants everywhere. They also make long-lasting cut flowers. Bulbs are widely available in Fall at retail nurseries in mild-winter climates; in Fall and early spring from mail-order catalogs.

Ranunculus leaves, grass green and vaguely celery-like, grow in a mound 6 to 12 inches across. Flowers on 12- to 18-inch stems emerge in March from fall-planted bulbs, June and July from spring-planted bulbs; they last up to six weeks. On the most common type, the Tecolote strain, flowers are mostly fully double, 3 to 6 inches wide, and available in bicolored picotee, gold, pastel mix, pink, red, rose, salmon, sunset orange, white, and yellow. The less common Bloomingdale strain is shorter, to 10 inches, with pale orange, pink, red, yellow, and white double flowers.

Where and How Ranunculus Grow Best

Broadly speaking, ranunculus are frost-hardy cool-season perennials. They perform best where winters are relatively mild and springs are long and cool. The roots tolerate soil temperatures to 10°F, while growing plants can handle temperatures below 20°F for several hours.

Ranunculus are most popular in the mild-winter regions of the South and West, in states such as California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana (USDA Hardiness Zones 8 through 11), where they grow best. Planted there in October or November, they flower in March.

The clawlike bulbs, more correctly tubers, come in four grades or sizes. The largest, called jumbos, are the ones you should rely upon; they are at least 7 to 8 centimeters (2-3/4 to 3-1/8 inches) in circumference, or about 7/8 inch in diameter. Number one tubers are slightly smaller, 6 to 7 centimeters (2-1/4 to 2-3/4 inches); number twos are 5 to 6 centimeters (2 to 2-1/4 inches); and number threes, which are rare at retail, are 3 to 4 centimeters (1-1/8 to 2-1/4 inches).

Bulb size predicts the number of flowers. Each jumbo bulb will produce some 35 cuttable flowers, compared to a fifth as many from a number three bulb. Number ones will make about 20 flowers, number twos a dozen or more. Stick to jumbos for containers and most smaller plantings. Smaller number twos or even threes serve well for mass plantings.

At retail nurseries this fall, you can expect to pay about 50 cents for each jumbo bulb, 25 cents for number twos. Increasingly, nurseries also offer ranunculus in fall or spring as bedding plants in 4-inch pots. While the cost per bulb in pots is greater, this is a good option if you need only a few plants for a container.

Gardeners in zone 7 and north (Richmond and Reno to Minneapolis) can also grow ranunculus, but on a different schedule. In these regions, plant in early spring a week or two before the typical last frost.

Or, plant them in pots indoors in February for transplanting later. Place pots in a south- or west-facing window or under grow lights. Temperatures around 55°F are ideal. In early spring, gradually acclimate plants to outdoors by putting them out for more time each day (bring them in at night). Plant outdoors by mid-April in zones 6 and 7 (mid-May in zones 4 and 5). Spring-planted ranunculus will bloom in June or July.

Planting Ranunculus

Dry and hard when you buy them, tubers soften and plump up after absorbing moisture. You might be advised elsewhere to soak tubers before planting. It's not necessary, and if you happen to leave them in water too long, they'll turn to mush.

Choose a location in full sun and be sure the soil is well drained. The one environment that ranunculus do not tolerate is warm and wet. The cool soil of fall and early spring offers some protection from rotting, but soil that is never soggy gives extra insurance. Plant the tuber's claw pointed end down and 1 to 2 inches deep, less in clay soil. Space jumbos 8 to 12 inches apart (at least one tuber per square foot), number three tubers about 4 inches apart (two or three per square foot).

Ranunculus Uses

Ranunculus adapt easily to container life, but they do produce a large root system. A 10-inch pot can fit one or two jumbos or three number twos.

Ronculus

Whether tubers are in the garden or in pots, water thoroughly after planting, and apply a mulch of your choice: bark, coco hulls, and straw all work well. As long as soil retains some moisture, don't water again until you see sprouts, usually within 15 to 20 days.

Companion plants. Because ranunculus are cool-season bloomers, their natural companions include other cool-season flowers such as snapdragon (Antirrhinum), calendula, larkspur (Consolida ambigua), Chinese forget-me-not (Cynoglossum amabile), African daisy (Arctotis), candytuft (Iberis), sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), toadflax (Linaria), forget-me-not (Myosotis), Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule), primrose (Primula), and pansy (Viola). The question is how to combine colors.

Here are two ranunculus color schemes that have proven popular. Interplant pink ranunculus with salmon Iceland poppy and red-purple pansies, and accent with a few yellow and pink English primroses. Another favorite scheme combines salmon ranunculus with blue Chinese forget-me-not.

Ranunculus from seed. If you can locate seed for sale or through a swap, they're definitely worth the effort. Sow in a lightweight, peat-based seed-starting mix in late winter, maintain soil temperature at 50°F, and allow 20 to 30 days for germination. Sow thickly, because the number of seeds that actually grow is low. After germination, maintain seedlings indoors at about 55°F until outdoor planting time. Plants will flower by June.

As cut flowers. Beyond their intrinsic beauty, ranunculus flowers have another virtue: they last indoors about 7 days after cutting. And at about a penny-and-a-half per flower, they are very inexpensive. Cut when flowers first show color, in the early morning after they have had the night to recharge themselves with moisture. For an additional day or two of vase life, add any floral preservative to the water.

Ranunculus Flowers Perennials

After the flowers fade. For some lucky gardeners with perfectly drained, cool soil, the tubers can stay in place and be treated like any perennial that comes back year after year. But this is rare. Most gardeners treat ranunculus as annuals, disposing of them after bloom. You could pull and compost plants, or leave them in place to fade away. In most gardens, the tubers will rot in moist summer soils. More ambitious gardeners can save the tubers for replanting next year. Let blooms fade and plants dry out. Lift tubers, cut off tops, and store in a dry, cool place for planting next year.

Michael MacCaskey is a former editorial director at National Gardening.

Ranunculus Perennial Uk