Planting ranunculus bulbs

Planting ranunculus bulbs or corms is one of the best things you can do for your garden! They are effortless to grow and will grace your garden with beautiful blooms in a wide range of colors, making for stunning arrangements. We fell in love with this flower years ago, but recently we have become obsessed with sharing just how easy it is to grow these flowers with gardeners. This blog will help you understand how easy it really is to plant ranunculus bulbs or corms!

What are ranunculus bulbs or corms?

Ranunculus is a rose-like flower that grows incredibly easily in the cool season of Zones 9 and 10. Planting ranunculus bulbs or corms is the best way to grow these flowers. The ‘bulbs’ are corms, which are the energy storage for the plant and are used to propagate the flower easily. Think of it like a seed potato or a dahlia. You are growing a chunk of the root mass that will easily produce the same plant again and again. You simply place hydrated corms in quality soil and let them grow, producing stunning blooms for you all cool season long!

When should you be planting ranunculus bulbs or corms?

Here in Zones 9 and 10, we plant ranunculus bulbs or corms in the fall, around October or November. The bulbs are soaked in water for a few hours prior to planting them in quality soil in pots or raised beds. You can plant them in the ground but digging them up for storage is more challenging. Here in Zones 9 and 10, you can leave bulbs or corms in the ground all year long, but they are gophers’ favorites! We pull ours up yearly because they are so easy to store, and we do not want to lose precious varieties.

Within a week or so of planting your corms, foliage bursting from the soil that looks like celery; these are your ranunculus! We do not do much for our plants during the growing stage except provide regular irrigation and a light dose of fertilizer as the flower heads begin to appear. We harvest the flowers regularly to enjoy in arrangements and to encourage more blooms.

After the blooming season is over, we allow the pots to dry completely and simply pull the bulbs out by the plant’s stem. We then dry them and store them for future use.

For more information on growing ranunculus and other cut flowers in Zones 9 and 10, be sure to visit our YouTube page!