RANUNCULUS 



THE BULB BOOK 



RANUNCULUS 



varieties. The main types are (1) October. A loamy soil deeply du£ 



saitgnineus, from which the " Turkey 

 Ranunculus" has arisen. It has 

 double flowers of orange, yellow, 

 or purple, or variegations of the 

 same, white and blue colours being 

 excluded ; (2) sujierbiis, in which the 

 flowers are large, single, semi-double, 

 or double, of brilliant shades of 

 colour ; (3) temdlohus, with finely 

 divided leaves and flowers usually 

 white or yellow, rarely purple ; and 

 (4) vulgaris, from which the " Persian 

 Ranunculus" has been evolved, and 

 in which the double and single 

 flowers are almost of every shade of 

 colour except blue. 



As stated in the author's Practical 

 Guide to Garden Plants, the above 

 represent the main divisions into 

 v/hich the Asiatic Ranunculus natur- 

 ally falls. But owing to the careful 

 selection, hybridisation and inter- 

 crossing by British and Continental 

 gardeners, extending over many 

 generations, the wild forms have 

 practically disappeared, and there are 

 now an infinite number of varieties 

 cultivated, being divided into groups 

 known as Scotch, Dutch, French, 

 Italian, Persian, and Turban or 

 Turkish. The Scotch and Dutch 

 varieties are usually the finest forms 

 of the Persian, and are dwarfer in 

 habit, with double flowers edged and 

 spotted. The French and Italian 

 varieties are modifications of the 

 Turkish, and are remarkable for their 

 vigour and size. The Turkish forms 

 are less variegated in colour than the 

 others, and have a large proportion of 

 scarlet, Avhite, yellow, and orange 

 self-coloured flowers somewhat resem- 

 bling Pieonies. 



Culture. — The roots of the Garden 

 Ranunculus are best planted about 

 the end of February or early in 

 March, but in mild parts of the King- 

 dom they may also be planted in 



and enriched Avith well - decayed 

 manure or leaf-mould will generally 

 give good results. An open and 

 fairly sunny situation should be 

 chosen, and when ready for planting, 

 drills about 2 to 3 ins. deep, and 6 to 

 9 ins. apart should be drawn with a 

 hoe. The " claws " or fangs of the 

 roots should be placed downwards, 

 leaving from 4 to 6 ins. between one 

 X)lant and another in the rows. The 

 loose soil is then gently raked over 

 the "crowns," prior to which some 

 gardeners place a handful of sand 

 over each plant. The soil should be 

 made fairly firm, either by gently 

 patting down with the spade or care- 

 fully treading with the feet. When 

 the leaves appear, the soil should be 

 carefully hoed if necessary to keep 

 down weeds and freshen it up ; and 

 later on when growth is in full swing, 

 an occasional watering with weak 

 liquid manure will benefit the plants. 

 In dry seasons attention should be 

 paid to watering, but the surface soil 

 should not be allowed to cake owing 

 to lack of hoeing. Where the ground 

 has been trenched and well manured 

 in advance, and the hoe is used from 

 time to time, there will not be so 

 much necessity for artificial watering, 

 as such a soil usually contains 

 abundant supplies, which arise to the 

 root region by capillary attraction. 



After the flowers have withered, 

 and the leaves begin to turn yellow, 

 the time for lifting the tubers is at 

 hand. They should be taken up care- 

 fully, and allowed to dry after the 

 soil has been shaken ofi^. Afterwards 

 they may be stored away in a cool, 

 airy, frost-proof place until the plant- 

 ing season again comes round. 



Propagation is effected by separat- 

 ing offsets from the older tubers, and 

 also by means of seeds. These should 

 be allowed to ripen thoroughly in the 



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