794 



RANUNCULUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



RANUNCULUS. 



Europe, and found chiefly growing in 

 calcareous soil : a handsome kind, forming 

 small tufts of shining, dark -green, prettily 

 cut leaves ; flowers large pure white, with 

 numerous yellow stamens in the centre, 

 and borne singly on erect stems from 

 2 in. to 6 in. high in June and July. A 



Ranunculus aconitifolius fl.-pl. (Fair Maids of France). 



good rock-garden plant in light, porous, 

 moist soil. There is a pretty dwarf form, 

 hardly rising above the soil. R. pyrenizus 

 comes near this in effect, with large white 

 flowers borne several together on stems 

 of 6 in., but the leaf is a different 

 shape. 



R. amplexicaulis ( White Buttercup} is 

 a lovely garden plant, about I ft. high, 

 with slender stems, glaucous-grey leaves, 

 and blossoms i in. across, pure white with 

 yellow centres, blooming in April and 

 May : a pretty border and rock-garden 

 plant, doing best in a deep moist loam. 

 Pyrenees and Alps of Provence. 



R. asiaticus (Turban Buttercup}. An 

 old garden plant, with neat double flowers 

 of many colours, divided into various 

 sections, such as the Dutch, Scotch, 

 Persian, and Turkish, .each representing 

 a distinct race, and all beautiful. The 

 culture of this Ranunculus is simple 

 if a few essentials are observed. The 

 situation should be open, but not exposed, 

 and the soil a loam mixed with decayed 

 stable manure equal to a third of its 

 bulk. About a month previous to plant- 

 ing, the bed should be prepared to a 

 depth of 15 in., and planting should take 

 place about the last half of February ; in 

 some seasons it may take place in October, 

 though such an early date is not the best. 

 Drills about 5 in. apart and i^ deep 

 should be made with a small hoe ; the 

 claws of the roots should be placed down- 



wards and pressed firmly into the soil, 

 which should be raked over the roots, and 

 a top-dressing of about 2 in. of good loam 

 given. If the surface soil is light, it may 

 be gently beaten with a spade in order to 

 obtain a firm surface, and this may be 

 repeated just before the foliage appears, 

 say about a month or six weeks after 

 the planting. As this Ranunculus de- 

 lights in moist soil, water should be given 

 if there is a scarcity of rain, and in no 

 case should the roots be allowed to be- 

 come dry. A light top-dressing of arti- 

 ficial manure or guano just as the foliage 

 is above ground will do good. When the 

 flowers are past and the leaves faded, the 

 roots must be taken up, dried, and stored 

 in a cool place in sand till the next plant- 

 ing season, for roots left in the ground are 

 injured by rains and never strong. The 

 Persian varieties are the finest as regards 

 colour, compactness, and symmetry of 

 growth ; but the Turban varieties are of 

 hardier constitution and of freer growth, 

 and therefore are better suited for beds, 

 lines, and masses. The Scotch and 

 Dutch varieties are also fine for masses 

 in beds, being all of highly effective 

 colours. It is useless to enumerate the 

 different varieties, as they are usually sold 

 according to colour, and are mentioned 

 in nearly every bulb catalogue. The 

 large semi-double French (de Caen) and 

 the Italian forms of this plant are good. 

 The wild plant, which I gathered in Egypt 

 both in the yellow and red forms, is a 

 lovely single flower, and as well worth 

 growing as any of its garden varieties, 

 but it is not hardy, and soon perished on 

 my cool stiff soil. To be grown it must 

 be treated like its variety, i.e., the roots 

 taken up yearly. 



R. bulbosus fl.-pl. is a showy plant, 

 about i ft. in height, with, in early sum- 

 mer, numerous double yellow blossoms, 

 growing well in any soil. There is also 

 a pretty pale yellow form, pallidus. Of 

 R. repens there are two double varieties, 

 one neat and the other untidy. 



R. bullatus is a fine border plant, about 

 6 in. high, with large orange-yellow blos- 

 soms like those of the Marsh Marigold 

 ( Caltha palustris}. It is not so hardy as 

 the majority of the Crowfoots, and should 

 therefore be placed in warm dry soil. 



R. crenatus. A native of alpine and 

 siliceous mountains in Styria, the leaves 

 entire and roundish ; the flowers are large, 

 white, with almost entire petals, two or 

 three together at the extremity of stems 3 

 or 4 in. high in April and May. Plant 

 in the rock-garden in deep sandy soil in 

 our country, fully exposed to the sun. 



