Ranunculus bulbs are cool-season flowers that are popular because of their vibrant colors. It’s mainly why they’re a great floral decoration at weddings and ceremonies. Due to their growing popularity, many people wonder do Ranunculus Bulbs multiply or not?
Persian buttercups, also known as Ranunculus, are known to quickly multiply whenever they’re happy and well taken care of. Bulbs, such as Ranunculus, Tulips, or Daffodils, all are able to propagate quite fast.
With those facts in mind, we go through additional questions you may have, including how fast can Ranunculus bulbs multiply and how you can keep your flowery garden well grown.
Let’s get to it!
Can Ranunculus Bulbs Multiply?
Ranunculus bulbs originated from the Middle East, which makes them natives of the Mediterranean land. They belong to the Ranunculaceae family of flowers that are otherwise known as the buttercup or the crowfoot species.
These names go back to the plant’s design. Since these flowers mainly grow around swamps and pools of water, their seeds tend to look like crowfeet. As they stem, their petals bloom to form colorful, buttercup-shaped flowers.
Owing to the aforementioned facts, Ranunculus bulbs are able to multiply. A single Ranunculus plant can result in at least eight new tubers, or stems, that’ll soon sprout buds. After a week or so, the buds develop to be bublets, then offsets, then finally, fully bloomed buttercups once five weeks have passed.
Fun fact: while it’s not unusual to end up with more Ranunculus bulbs than expected, some factors play a role in affecting the resulting number of flowers. For instance, consistently watering a Ranunculus plant, while properly taking care of it, helps increase the propagation.
How Fast Do Ranunculus Multiply?
On average, a single Ranunculus seed is expected to sprout from five to ten stems. The number will depend on the type of Ranunculus you have and how big the heads of the plant’s corms are.
There are 24 kinds of Ranunculus plants, such as Ranunculus bulbosus and Ranunculus repens. Corms, on the other hand, are what we call Ranunculus seeds. They appear fleshy and act as underground, food storage for such plants.
Simply put, some Ranunculus species are slow bloomers, while others aren’t. Additionally, bigger corms equal higher chances of multiplying.
How Often Do Ranunculus Bulbs Multiply?
Typically a Ranunculus seed is planted during the fall. This makes the plant’s flowering seasons anytime between late winter and early spring. By the end of this period, Ranunculus bulbs will start to bloom.
This leads us to the next stage: flowering. Ranunculus buds start to fully grow and will continue to increase in numbers for at least seven weeks. This fact is primarily why you should plant Ranunculus corms five inches or more apart, to allow for growth.
To sum up, the amount of Ranunculus flowers you can gather per flowering cycle will only double and triple over time—that is, of course, if you continue to properly take care of these delicate plants.
How to Speed Up the Propagation of Ranunculus Bulbs
As it’s been established, Ranunculus bulbs love water, but not too much that you can leave the plant sitting in it.
This simple fact, plus the Ranunculus’ natural ability to multiply, makes it fairly easy to speed up the bulb’s propagation process. In this section, we go through the few, simple ways you can go about doing so.
Recultivate Seeds
The unfortunate time will come when your Ranunculus bulb starts to die. Once that happens, don’t fret, because you can easily use its death to your advantage.
What you need to do is gather the seeds out of the dried Ranunculus flowers. Take each one out of its chaff—that would be the dry, scaly casing protecting them. After that, the seeds are ready to be recultivated under the correct conditions, and they are:
- In well-drained potting soil, scatter the seeds in your preferred compost
- Sift more compost onto the surface
- Finish off with a layer of fine grit
- Store the pots in a cool space that doesn’t overheat (50°F – 60°F is ideal)
- Make sure that you sparingly water the plant so that the soil is moist but never wet
- Remember to properly sterile your trays and pots
With the right conditions being met, cultivated Ranunculus seeds will typically take three to four months before they start germinating. They’re sure to grow out on nights when the temperature is a cool 40° to 60° Fahrenheit.
Divide and Replant
A pretty effective method to quickly and easily boost the propagation of your Ranunculus is by methodically dividing the bulb. Then, replanting it so that these discarded pieces can grow to create more flowers.
To put it in other words, often the mother or parent bulb will grow out offsets, otherwise baby bulbs, before the blooming season. These small buds are considered shy bloomers and are likely to not flower when spring comes around.
So, why not make use of them? Cutting off baby buds and recultivating them gives you a chance to have more Ranunculus in your garden. The resulting flowers will be the same color as the parent bulb.
Note that the only trick to achieving this is to make sure that you cut part of the plant’s stem along with the offset as well. Keep them stored in the same growing conditions as mentioned above and watch them sprout in two to three weeks.
Cut the Corms
Cuttage is a standard gardening method that guarantees fast multiplication. It works exceptionally well with flowers, such as Ranunculus, that are prone to propagate quickly.
That said, the process is simple. Before planting your seed, or corm, cut the base into six, equally-sized triangles. This way, the growing point of your plant has just been amplified, greatly increasing the number of Ranunculus flowers that’ll bloom later on.
On the other hand, some gardeners opt to carry out their cutting process after the plant has begun to sprout. When it comes to Ranunculus, you can dig up the bulb sometime between late fall and early winter then slice it vertically into six or eight sections.
Remember that each cut-off piece needs a base, or part of the stem to support its growth. Once you have them, replant them in a suitable environment then watch them bloom into colorful Ranunculus buttercups.
How to Keep Ranunculus Bulbs Happy
This section is for those who prefer a more natural way of helping their Ranunculus to multiply. As mentioned before, a well-taken-care-of Ranunculus will happily sprout out many budding flowers.
Luckily enough, these plants are quite low-maintenance too. For starters, you only need to feed them fertilizer on a bimonthly basis. Liquid plant food is preferred and is sure to help the seeds sprout faster.
When it comes to the soil, you should allow it time to dry from one watering session to another. It’s not good for a Ranunculus plant to sit in water for a long time.
Additionally, once the weather starts to warm up, there’s no need to water your bulbs any longer. Simply let them dry so you can repurpose the seeds again during the fall.
Finally, deadhead buds and spent flowers should be regularly cut off so they don’t impede the growth of the neighboring bulbs. If you choose to, you can repurpose dead bubs and maybe decorate your home with them.
Summary: Do Ranunculus Bulbs Multiply?
In this article, our main aim was to answer the pressing question do Ranunculus bulbs multiply or not?
In short, Ranunculus buttercups belong to a family of flowers that are known for their quick and heavy propagation. The only catch is that, like any plant, Ranunculus bulbs require the right amount of care to be able to multiply properly.
So, with that in mind, make sure you’re gently nurturing your Ranunculus bulbs and keeping them happy!
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