Starting my Ranunculus

How I started my ranunculus corms this year

I was so behind on jobs after having a bout of flu followed by a heavy cold. I estimated myself to be about 10 jobs behind where I needed to be. Anyhow I knew I had to get my ranunculus started if I wanted to have my ranunculus patch again this year so I decided to prioritise this job.

I decided this year to cut out the pre sprouting step altogether and to go straight from soaking to planting. I hope I don't regret it. I did later find some more ranunculus which I soaked and planted into my polytunnel the next day.

I am nervous about skipping the pre sprouting step but I noticed ranunculus (ones I had missed when digging them up at the end of their flowering period last year) sprouting in the garden and even surviving the -5 C frosts (23F) so I decided that they must be pretty well suited to my garden climate if they are happy to grow on their own without such a fuss.

MY USUAL STEPS:

1. Pre soak the corms for 3-4 hours. Refreshing the water a couple of times during this period.

2. Lay corms on a tray of moist soil and then just sprinkle soil over them.

3. Leave in a darkened room for 2-4 weeks until sprouted. Make sure you check on them regularly during this time to make sure they don't dry out. Keep a mister handy for spraying them.

4. Plant out in moist cool soil 5 cm's deep. Cover with a polytunnel in harsher climates and remember to water occasionally to prevent soil and therefore corms drying out.

TOP TIPS:

1. Make sure you have some where suitable to plant them once they have pre sprouted.

2. Although I emphasise not letting soil or corms dry out, you mustn't have them sitting in soggy soil either or they will rot. If this is your first go yes, you probably will get a little neurotic about it but it will pay dividends when those beauties flower in late spring.

My full video on what I did with my ranunculus this year.