Is it Ranunculi, Ranunculus or Ranunculuses?

Afternoon All,

Now I'm hoping that one of our dear readers may be able to help clear up a little debate that we've been having whilst planting oodles of Ranunculus corms/bulbs... 

What is the plural for Ranunculs?  Is it Ranunculi, Ranunculus or Ranunculuses? 

Ranunculus blooms

Whichever way, we've planted hundreds of these gorgeous flower corms in preparation for the lovely brides wedding flowers that we are booked to do this summer.  Orange ones, Pink ones, Red ones, Yellow ones, White ones.  In fact I think we've covered nearly all colour options.  We've even planted a gorgeous variety (Pink Picotee) which has white flowers with petals tinged with pink.

If you haven't guessed already I'm a big fan of Ranunculus.  Maybe it's because of the full almost double petal like blooms, the bright and happy colours or the strong stems which make them ideal for flower arranging, not to mention that they last nearly two weeks in the vase once cut!

So from these somewhat ugly looking corms/bulbs come these (little heard of in UK) plants which flower their little socks off all summer long.

Ranunculus soaking in a bucket of water

When planting Ranunculus I like to soak the corms/tubers overnight in water.  This helps the corms swell and I find it gives them a little bit of a head start when it comes to germinating and sending out the first shoots of growth.

I plant them bananas pointing down at approx. 2inches deep in well drained soil and in a sunny site.  Ours are in the polytunnel at the moment to give them a kick start and help them to flower a touch earlier than if planted outside. 

Ranunculus in ground

Then I cover them over with compost.  This is mostly so that I can see the rows that I've planted as I'm terrible at planting in straight rows (even with a guide line.)  So the difference in colour between the soil and the compost gives me a guide when it comes to weeding.  It doesn't matter if I'm planting or sowing, I always cover things over with compost so that I know where the rows are. 

Then I lay the drip hose (my favourite time saver) on the top and leave them to grow into wonderful colourful plants full of gorgeous flowers.  Then stick a plant label in at the start of the row as my memory is terrible and I always forget to write things down in my planting book.

Drip hose over Ranunculs bulbs

And that's it.  My simple guide to planting Ranunculus.  You don't need acres of space to grow these fab little plants.  In fact, they look smashing in pots on a patio or by your front door to bring a splash a colour to your garden.

Now fingers crossed that things grow as they should, the slugs and snails don't nibble the tops off and the mole that seems to have made the polytunnel his home doesn't dig them all up, we should have bunches and bunches of Ranunculus in flower by the end of May.  So look out for them in our bouquets and bunches and for sale by the bunch on our stall at the Brecon Outdoor Markets during the summer months.

Cathy
Brecon Blooms