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Add Vibrant Color To Your Spring Garden With This Beautiful Plant
By TAYLOR HENRY
Liven up your yard this spring with Persian buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus), whose deep red, fiery yellow, orange, and pale pink flowers are exquisite in pots or garden borders.
Growing 1 to 2 feet in height, Persian buttercups are hardy in USDA zones 8 through 11 and should be planted in fall in warmer climates and in spring in colder climates.
Beneath the soil is a corm, which is similar to a bulb except it’s a solid organ that looks as if it has fingers. It stores its own nutrients and can be divided for replanting.
Soak the corms in water to hydrate them, then plant them where they’ll get at least six hours of sunlight. Dig a 2- to 3-inch deep hole and plant them with the fingers facing down.
Persian buttercups prefer well-draining soil, so increase drainage in clay soil by adding compost or plant them in containers. Also, add mulch to keep them cool in warmer climates.
They’ll flower in about 90 days and bloom for about three months. You can divide and replant the corms in the fall, or dig them up in the fall and store them indoors until spring.