Indoor planting for 2015 – Ranunculus

I am already hard at work on my 2015 ranunculus crop. This crop takes months to grow–sometimes it feels like a completely year-round responsibility. I am growing it the most efficient way I know how. Every year I make little tweaks to get a longer season with more efficiency. Although I love this flower, all of its natural inclinations go against our Vermont climate and it’s a completely nonnative species. Much of my ranunculus’ life is spent indoors under LED Lights before it goes out to the cold frame.

We start by soaking and rehydrating the corms:

They are planted in cell trays and go through a variety of temperature changes over 2 .5 months to expedite blooming.

They begin in the cold frame under a caterpillar tunnel.  Next they will be covered in the cold frame under row cover.

Every season our crop gets better and better.  So I keep expanding. Most Southern growers get 1o flowers from a corm. I get 2 because of our extreme temperatures.  However, I will have the flowers at a time of year Southern growers will not, and this is my advantage that makes the difficult crop worthwhile. Last May thru June, customers at farmers markets loved them and were willing to pay a handsome price for them.  They became a show stopper at my market booth and drew people in.

2015 varieties:

Salmon and light pink

White

This season we are starting to ship FedEx within the US. If you are a Southern floral designer who needs ranunculus end of May-mid June  please join our Weekly availability flower list.  For Vermont florists: we offer a  local driving route as well so please sign up. If you are not a florist, farm or wholesaler and want to receive a list what’s growing please sign up for  Our Retail Customer Weekly Availability  Flower List.

You can always view our Pinterest Page which has flower availability by the month and wedding designs.