Buttercup - a delicate herb with amazingly beautiful flowers. Especially interesting are garden forms with large spherical heads. The plant belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. The genus is represented not only by decorative species, but also by weeds with caustic and poisonous juice. Buttercups are common in temperate and cold climates throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They live in open meadows and in fresh water. The scientific name of the ranunculus - "ranunculus" - comes from the word "frog". It is given for the ability to grow where amphibians live.
What does buttercup look like?
Buttercup is a perennial or annual with straight branched shoots up to 20-100 cm high. It has a fibrous root system, on the processes of which palmate, spider-like tubers are formed. On the thickened ribbed stem is another foliage with solid serrated or dissected plates. It has a bluish-green or dark green color. Leaves do not differ in large sizes, usually the length does not exceed 6 cm.
In June-July, beautiful flowers bloom on the tops of the stems. They can be simple or terry, similar to flowers of roses and peonies. The number of flower elements is a multiple of 5 (less often 3). The diameter of the corolla depends on the variety and can be 2-10 cm. The color of the flowers is very diverse (plain or colorful): bright salmon, purple, yellow, orange, cream, white. In the center are many short stamens and pistils. The flowering period lasts about a month. In cut flowers will stand in a vase for at least a week.
After pollination by insects, complex fruits are formed - multi-roots. Ripening, they burst independently, releasing fleecy convex seeds. In each fruit there are several dozen.
Attention! Buttercup juice is poisonous. Its name comes from the word "fierce", capable of destroying the animal and man. It can cause irritation on the skin and poisoning, so all work is carried out with gloves, and also do not allow animals and children to color.
Classic views
Already today, more than 400 plant species are included in the genus of buttercup, and the list continues to grow.
Acid buttercup (night blindness). The herbaceous perennial 20-50 cm high consists of erect, branched stems. Foliage is located along the entire height of the shoots, but rather rarely. Below it is larger, almost solid. Upper leaflets strongly dissected, with linear lobes. In June, simple yellow flowers with 5 wide petals appear. In diameter, they do not exceed 2 cm.
Golden buttercup (yellow). The inhabitant of moist shady meadows grows 40 cm in height. There are almost no leaves on the straight stem. The basal rosette consists of rounded toothed leaves on long petioles. At the top is a linear sessile foliage. Small yellow flowers have a pubescent calyx and a simple bell-shaped nimbus. They bloom in April-June.
Creeping buttercup. A perennial plant with laden shoots of 15-40 cm in height is easily rooted in nodes upon contact with the soil. The stalk is covered with a short pile. Petiole bright green foliage grows along its entire length. The right simple yellow flowers consist of 5 petals. They are revealed already at the beginning of summer.
Buttercup is poisonous. A young or annual plant with an erect, branched stalk grows 10-70 cm tall. On the shoots are openwork triple leaves with serrated sides. The ovoid wide lobes are colored dark green. In May-June, small umbellate inflorescences with small (7-10 mm wide) light yellow flowers appear on the tops of shoots.
Ranunculus asiaticus (asiaticus). Perennial with a branched erect stem up to 45 cm tall grows bright green pubescent leaves. In July, flowers bloom, located singly or 2-4 pieces in inflorescence. They have a diverse color and grow 4-6 cm in diameter.
Banewort. A perennial plant with a bare rising or upright stalk grows 20-50 cm in height. Foliage has a rhomboid or oval shape. The lower leaves are attached with long stalks, and the upper ones are on the stem. Small flowers (0.8-1.2 cm) grow alone and are colored yellow. The juice of the plant is toxic and irritates the skin.
Buttercup water. The inhabitant of the swampy ponds of Australia due to creeping shoots is very modest in size. Its height is about 5-20 cm. On straight petioles carved leaves resembling green snowflakes grow. The plant looks quite decorative and is often used in aquariums.
Buttercup is multifloral. Herbaceous perennial 40-80 cm in height consists of erect, branched stems with short nap. Fingered foliage is also pubescent. It has elongated lanceolate lobes with incised edges. Simple bright yellow flowers adorn the plant from June to August.
Buttercup Sayan. A flowering plant with curved stems 20-30 cm tall grows leaves of a round or heart-shaped shape with a diameter of 2-3 cm. The lower ones are located on long petioles, the upper ones are sessile. In early summer, single yellow flowers with a hairy receptacle appear.
Buttercup Kashubian. Perennial plant with a straight stem, branched only in the upper part, 30-60 cm high. The whole leaves are round or heart-shaped located on the petioles at the base of the shoot. The upper leaves are palm-dissected, small. Single flowers of a light yellow shade in diameter are 2-3 cm. They bloom in April.
Decorative garden buttercup
This group of plants is highly decorative and most common among gardeners. The most interesting varieties:
- Buttercup Masha. A compact plant with a branched stem up to 30-40 cm tall, blooms double flowers with white petals and a bright border.
- Terry buttercup (peony). Large solid flowers with closely adjacent petals.
- French. Semi-double flowers consist of 2-3 rows of wide petals.
- Persian. Small simple or semi-double flowers.
- Freaky. It blooms with dense, spherical flowers.
Breeding methods
Buttercup propagated by seed and division of the rhizome. Since most decorative buttercups do not convey varietal properties to offspring, purchased seeds are needed for sowing.
Pre-grown seedlings. For this, already in the second half of February seeds are sown in boxes with sandy peat or loose garden soil and sprinkled with a thin layer of earth. They are carefully watered and covered with a transparent material. The greenhouse is kept in a bright place with a temperature of + 10 ... + 12 ° C. Shoots appear rather amicably in 15-20 days. From this moment, the shelter is removed and the pot is transferred to a warmer (+ 20 ° C) room. Lighting should be diffuse, but rather intense. If necessary, use phytolamps. When 4-5 leaves appear on the seedlings, it is dived in separate peat pots.
Every year, new tuberous growths form on the roots. When excavated in September, they are separated. In frosty winter, the roots do not survive on the street. They prefer a cool room (+ 19 ... + 21 ° C). In the spring, cones are planted on a flower bed.
Outdoor planting and care
Buttercups are planted in the garden in late May, when the likelihood of frost finally disappears. Select sunny or slightly dark areas with good protection against drafts. Constant exposure to direct sunlight is undesirable, since flowering will be short-lived and less plentiful.
The soil should be neutral or slightly acidic. Close occurrence of groundwater is contraindicated. It is best to choose fairly loose, nutritious soils with moderate humidity. The site is dug up in advance and pits are prepared to the depth of the root system. The distance between plants is 15-20 cm. A little sand or vermiculite is poured on the bottom of each hole. Landing is best done with a pot or a large lump of land flush with the root neck.
Nodules are pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water with potassium permanganate and growth stimulant. They are planted to a depth of 8-10 cm. The soil is compacted and watered abundantly.
Further plant care is not very burdensome. Periodically, weed beds, remove weeds and break the crust on the surface of the earth.
Watering should be moderate. Only in the absence of precipitation, the flower bed is watered twice a week. Since August, plants need to be watered much less frequently so that the tubers ripen and do not rot. With prolonged rainy weather, plantings are covered with foil.
Every 15-20 days, the buttercup is fed with mineral complexes. At the beginning of growth, nitrogen compounds are used, and with the advent of buds, they switch to potassium-phosphorus ones.
To make the flowerbed look neat, immediately cut off the withered flowers.
Buttercups are rather thermophilic plants, therefore they cannot winter in the open ground. In the fall, when the entire ground part begins to dry, the tubers are dug up. They are dried in a ventilated place and stored in cloth or pots with a cake.
Ranunculus often does not often get sick, mainly with fungal infections that develop with regular flooding of the soil. The first signal is the dropping of buds and flowers that have not yet blossomed. Also, brown or whitish plaques may appear on the leaves and stems. If a disease is detected, it is necessary to temporarily stop watering and carry out a fungicide treatment.
Spider mites and nematodes inhabit the plant from parasites. If it is quite easy to get rid of the first using insecticides, then nematodes are difficult to remove. They are located in the buttercup tissues. You can completely dig out the plant and rinse it thoroughly with roots under a hot (50 ° C) shower.
Beneficial features
Although ranunculus is considered a poisonous plant, in small quantities it can have a positive effect on the body. It is used in folk and official medicine. The juice contains saponins, fatty oils, tannins, glycosides, ascorbic acid. Ingestion stimulates the production of hemoglobin and stabilizes the nervous system. Outwardly, fresh leaves and lotions with decoctions and water infusions are used. They help fight joint diseases, gout, lupus, scabies, calluses.
It is very important not to exceed the dosage, so it is better to use pharmaceuticals, rather than self-prepared. Also, buttercup treatment is contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women, as well as people prone to allergies.
Garden use
Terry garden or simple buttercups with large, bright colors will be a wonderful decoration of a mixed flower bed. Depending on their height, they are used in the foreground or center of the flower garden, as well as in rockeries, alpine hills or mixborders. Some species are successfully cultivated in pots, like houseplants. In the flower garden, buttercup is usually combined with bells, cornflowers, hosts, evergreen shrubs.
