Buttercup
Ranunculus species (RANUNCULACEAE)
Planting and Growing Buttercup
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow buttercup in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of buttercup
- Season of bloom and planting time for buttercup
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for buttercup
- When, how deep, and where to plant buttercup
- How to plant buttercup
- Watering, fertilizing, care and pests or diseases of buttercup
- Landscape and indoor uses of buttercup
- Comments about buttercup and its features
Growing Buttercup
Summer tuberous root, some suited to aquatic environments. Deciduous. About 250 species. Stands 1–2 ft. (30–60 cm) tall. Fernlike, deeply toothed, midlength, deep green leaves, thinly spaced.
See also Persian buttercup, Ranunculus asiaticus.
Buttercup Planting and Care Guide
Flowers
Spring–summer, depending on zone. Orange, white, yellow. Solitary round, single-petaled, cup-shaped, upright flowers, to 3/4‑in. (19‑mm) wide, atop long stems.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 3–11; ground hardy, zones 8–9.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained sandy loam. Fertility: Average. 6.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in partial to full shade, zones 3–7; autumn, zones 8–11. Spacing depends on species. Soak tubers for 24 hours before planting.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist autumn–early spring. Keep damp late spring–summer. Fertilize in spring. Mulch, zones 4–8. Propagate by division.
Lifting and Storing
Dark, 50–60°F (10–16°C), in net bag or open basket of dry peat moss.
About This Species
Good choice for beds, borders, containers, drifts, ground covers in cottage, rock, shade, woodland gardens and water features. Good for cutting. Deer, rodent resistant. Slug, snail susceptible.