Potted Ranunculus

Hello! I’m back with an updated video about our ranunculus production. We’ve changed a few things and, as a result, we’re seeing healthier plants and less pest pressure. I also didn’t get a chance to share what the baby sprouted plants look like. It seems like a good time for an update.

We soak our ranunculus roots overnight in 5 gallon buckets with cool water and an aquarium bubbler. Then we gently let them dry off briefly on some bath towels and plant them into soilless mix (Pro Mix) in 50-cell, 5-in deep root trays. This is my favorite way to pre-sprout anemone and ranunculus. There’s just no comparison for me. The roots grow nice and long and healthy this way and they don’t get all tangled together.

We still grow our ranunculus in one gallon pots. When we bump them up into pots we’re using ProMix (sterile, soilless mix) and about a tablespoon of slow release fertilizer (Osmocote Plus 15-9-12) that feeds the plants for up to 4 months. Ranunculus take about 100 days to bloom from when they sprout, so the slow release fertilizer helps us make sure they are getting some balanced nutrition.

When growing in the ground or in raised beds, we use our soil and it is amended with compost and Nature’s Intent fertilizer 7-2-4.

To ward off pests, we’ve been doing the same protocol as for our mums last fall. We scout for aphids about every other day and apply a “minticide” fog about twice a week with our Petra Tools mini fogger.

Grow ranunculus around 50-54 degrees. They prefer a 14 hour day. Ranunculus will go dormant with extended time over 80F.

See the downloads page here in the Pro Platform for the Ranunculus culture sheet.