I put a bunch of yellow Ranunculus about 1-1/2 months ago; cost me
quite a bit. They looked gorgeous, then began shedding blooms.

Question: Do they re-bloom? I have little experience with bulbs,
etc; perennials where you have to dig up & replant next year. Doesn't
seem like they should be ending so fast. This is So. Calif coastal; a
mild Mediterranean climate.

What research I have done on-line seems to say that they DO bloom
"through midsummer".

I took pix, but now can't find them g

Anybody in a comparable climate have input on this?


HB

On 4/5/11 5:24 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
I put a bunch of yellow Ranunculus about 1-1/2 months ago; cost me
quite a bit. They looked gorgeous, then began shedding blooms.

Question: Do they re-bloom? I have little experience with bulbs,
etc; perennials where you have to dig up & replant next year. Doesn't
seem like they should be ending so fast. This is So. Calif coastal; a
mild Mediterranean climate.

What research I have done on-line seems to say that they DO bloom
"through midsummer".

I took pix, but now can't find them g

Anybody in a comparable climate have input on this?


HB


Please remind me: What is your "comparable climate"?

My ranunculus bloom once a year. They are blooming right now.

I groom (deadhead) them as the petals fall, leaving the foliage. When
the foliage dies and the long stems dry out, I gently pull the stems out
of the soil, leaving the tubers in the ground. They boom again the
following spring.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Apr 6, 8:05*am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 4/5/11 5:24 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:









I put a bunch of yellow Ranunculus about 1-1/2 months ago; cost me
quite a bit. They looked gorgeous, then began shedding blooms.

Question: *Do they re-bloom? * I have little experience with bulbs,
etc; perennials where you have to dig up & replant next year. *Doesn't
seem like they should be ending so fast. *This is So. Calif coastal; a
mild Mediterranean climate.

What research I have done on-line seems to say that they DO bloom
"through midsummer".

I took pix, but now can't find them g

Anybody in a comparable climate have input on this?

HB

Please remind me: *What is your "comparable climate"?

I'm in Santa Monica, about a mile from the beach.

My ranunculus bloom once a year. *They are blooming right now.

I groom (deadhead) them as the petals fall, leaving the foliage. *When
the foliage dies and the long stems dry out, I gently pull the stems out
of the soil, leaving the tubers in the ground. *They boom again the
following spring.

Damn! I sure didn't get much ****ing bloom out of THAT expenditure!
Area looks like dog-doo.

Nie wieder!

Now I have to wait around, if I understood you right, to pull out the
stems, leaving the tubers in the ground, TAKING UP THE SPACE that more
cooperative plants could have occupied! I can't leave that area
vacant for a whole ****ing YEAR!. Instead of leaving tubers in the
ground, can I pull them out and replant them next year (if we are all
spared)?

If so:

a. How should I store them?

b. Given that the ones I bought at the nursery may well have been
"forced", how can I anticipate when to replant the tubers? My micro-
climate and yours are not quite the same. I answered that above --
I'm in Santa Monica, about a mile from the beach, and I think you're
in the Valley somewhere?

TIA

HB



HB
--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Ranunculus tubers should be planted in October or November. Contrary to
some, the dry tubers do not need to be soaked in water before planting.
There should be some bone meal under the tubers but not touching them.

I would leave them in the ground. The survival rate is better than if
you remove them.

As long as you don't plant directly on top of a dormant tuber, you can
plant summer annuals near them. When the annuals die, cut them down;
don't pull them out, which might pull out ranunculus tubers that have
become entangled in the annuals' roots.

My garden is planted with perennials, bulbs, shrubs, subshrubs, and
ground cover. I have ranunculus in my rose bed along with freesias and
narcissus. The bed also contains evergreen daylilies, narcissus,
cuphea, primroses, low Camellia sasanqua, and blue fescue. The back of
the bed has dwarf Burford holly. One end has a clump of pink Penstemon.
The entire bed is covered with pink clover (Persicaria).

The ranunculus, freesias, and narcissus bloom only in the late winter
and into the spring, before the roses and daylilies bloom. When they
die down and go dormant, the rest of the plants in the bed provide more
than enough interest.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Apr 7, 7:44*am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
Ranunculus tubers should be planted in October or November. *Contrary to
some, the dry tubers do not need to be soaked in water before planting.
*There should be some bone meal under the tubers but not touching them.

I didn't know about the optimum planting time. Never planted tubers
before AFAIK. As mentioned earlier, I bought the ranunculus from the
nursery when they were in full, gorgeous bloom, which didn't last very
****ing long! Live & learn!

I would leave them in the ground. *The survival rate is better than if
you remove them.

As long as you don't plant directly on top of a dormant tuber, you can
plant summer annuals near them. *When the annuals die, cut them down;
don't pull them out, which might pull out ranunculus tubers that have
become entangled in the annuals' roots.

My garden is planted with perennials, bulbs, shrubs, subshrubs, and
ground cover. *I have ranunculus in my rose bed along with freesias and
narcissus. *The bed also contains evergreen daylilies, narcissus,
cuphea, primroses, low Camellia sasanqua, and blue fescue. *The back of
the bed has dwarf Burford holly. *One end has a clump of pink Penstemon..

Sounds gorgeous; well thought out.

*The entire bed is covered with pink clover (Persicaria).

I think it was you who advised the pink clover? Whoever it was, I did
put in a LOT of them in a back area between several large planters.
Helps define an area that would otherwise look somewhat desolate.
Coming along nicely. I understand they spread on their own, yay!
-
The ranunculus, freesias, and narcissus bloom only in the late winter
and into the spring, before the roses and daylilies bloom. *When they
die down and go dormant, the rest of the plants in the bed provide more
than enough interest.

Thanks for that. However, I'm going to try for some perennials in
that area rather than annuals. Something bright yellow (sort of a
theme in this area).

*** Any suggestions? ***

As to the ****ing ranunculus, I just don't want to be bothered with a
few months of bloom in exchange for most of the year barren. As soon
as the foliage dies, per your earlier advice, I plan to take up the
tubers and put them somewhere where they can do their thing less
obtrusively.

Your input much appreciated.

HB

On 4/8/11 6:14 PM, Higgs Boson wrote [in part]:

Thanks for that. However, I'm going to try for some perennials in
that area rather than annuals. Something bright yellow (sort of a
theme in this area).


There are some yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis) that seem to bloom almost
year round. They're sort of a golden yellow, almost yellow-orange.
They don't bloom continuously. Instead, they repeatedly bloom, rest,
and bloom again from late winter until the end of fall. Be sure you get
an evergreen variety, not a deciduous one that goes dormant in the winter.

Bush daisies (Euryops pectinatus) do bloom all year. At Gardens of the
World in Thousand Oaks, they bloom continuously year round. These can
grow tall and belong in the background. They should be pruned in the
late spring or early summer to prevent them from becoming leggy; this,
however, will eliminate flowers for a short while.

Primroses (in particular, Primula polyantha) have a long bloom period
from spring through summer, again on and off. There are varieties with
yellow flowers and blue flowers with yellow eyes. These are
low-growing, best in the foreground.

Consider Alstroemeria. Mine are never out of bloom. I've seen a
variety that has flowers that are yellow with orange (or is it orange
with yellow?).

All four should do quite well in Santa Monica.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On 4/8/11 11:08 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 4/8/11 6:14 PM, Higgs Boson wrote [in part]:

Thanks for that. However, I'm going to try for some perennials in
that area rather than annuals. Something bright yellow (sort of a
theme in this area).


There are some yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis) that seem to bloom almost
year round. They're sort of a golden yellow, almost yellow-orange.
They don't bloom continuously. Instead, they repeatedly bloom, rest,
and bloom again from late winter until the end of fall. Be sure you get
an evergreen variety, not a deciduous one that goes dormant in the winter.

Bush daisies (Euryops pectinatus) do bloom all year. At Gardens of the
World in Thousand Oaks, they bloom continuously year round. These can
grow tall and belong in the background. They should be pruned in the
late spring or early summer to prevent them from becoming leggy; this,
however, will eliminate flowers for a short while.

Primroses (in particular, Primula polyantha) have a long bloom period
from spring through summer, again on and off. There are varieties with
yellow flowers and blue flowers with yellow eyes. These are
low-growing, best in the foreground.

Consider Alstroemeria. Mine are never out of bloom. I've seen a
variety that has flowers that are yellow with orange (or is it orange
with yellow?).

All four should do quite well in Santa Monica.


I forgot calendula (C. officinalis), which has yellow-flowered varieties
that bloom much of the year. Also, there are various types of Gazania
with yellow flowers, including a trailing variety with green-gray
foliage. Finally, there are several perennial species and hybrids of
Coreopsis with either single or double yellow flowers.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary