The Ideal Place to Grow Ranunculus: Some of you may be curious, can ranunculus grow indoors?
There are wide varieties of ranunculus or buttercup. They might be native to either warm or cold climates.
Ranunculus grown in warmer climates can be safely planted in the soil. Meanwhile, for colder climates, indoor planting is generally more recommended.
Ranunculus is a plant that will thrive when grown in a sunny place. Thus, you have to ensure that sunlight can freely enter the area. Additionally, this plant requires a moist environment but without excess water.
Excess water heightens the chance of rotting. The drainage system must be well-developed, especially for indoor gardens.
Planting the Ranunculus Indoors
It is suggested to use clay pots with drainage holes at the bottom for the potting. Gardeners should also avoid overcrowding the pot during this phase.
In an 8-inch pot, you can only plant a maximum number of four rhizomes. To plant up to 10 rhizomes, you will need a pot larger than 12 inches.
Before planting, you must soak the ranunculus rhizomes adequately (usually for 3 to 4 hours). It is to ensure that the rhizomes stay moist throughout the potting stage.
To further support the growth, fertilizer must be added during the planting stage. After that, you do not need to water the rhizomes until they start showing their shoots on the ground.
The Pest Risk of Growing Ranunculus Indoors
Now it is possible to answer “can ranunculus grow indoors?” with a confident “yes.” It would be best if you took some precautions to ensure the optimum growth of the ranunculus.
Awareness of the risk, particularly related to pests, is very important to do some countermeasures before those pests start to disrupt the plant.
The most common pests that will attack ranunculus are aphids. These pests will disrupt the young ranunculus and prevent it from growing optimally.
You must inspect the ranunculus regularly during this precarious period. To solve the aphids attack, you can spray soapy water onto the infected areas to prevent the spread.
Fertilizing the Ranunculus Indoors
To grow optimally, fertilized soil is a necessary medium for the ranunculus. Gardeners are recommended to apply liquid fertilizer to ranunculus after the rhizomes have started sprouting.
Applying liquid fertilizer with a 12-4-8 ratio will make its foliage and flowers grow thick.
The liquid fertilizer should be applied only once in two weeks. This schedule ensures that the ranunculus will not lack moisture but, at the same time, can properly drain enough so the roots will not rot.
When entering the dormant period around the winter, ranunculus does not need to be fertilized as it stores nutrients in the soil.
Trimming the Indoor-Grown Ranunculus
Can ranunculus grow indoors? With regular trimming, the plant can thrive. Trimming is another activity that should be done to make sure that your ranunculus grows optimally indoors.
The gardener must have clean and sharp scissors to do the task. It ensures that the trimming will be pristine. Trimming begins in the fall before the first frost. The target is the top foliage of ranunculus.
After that, the trimming can move to the soil level, targeting the stems and lower foliage. It enables the ranunculus to gather sufficient energy to bloom after dormancy.
To further support this task, spent flowers must be removed immediately from the plant. You can do it with an empty hand or the help of scissors. It is also worth noting that trimming or cutting is recommended to be done in a dark and cool place.
There is a period when the ranunculus will die back on its own. When encountering this situation, all you need to do is sit back and watch.
You will know when to do this because the foliage develops a yellow tinge. Watering can be resumed during the fall; it starts budding again.
Accompanying Plant for the Ranunculus
If you are thinking about planting the ranunculus indoors, it is necessary to create a good indoor ecosystem for the flowering plant. One recommendation is to plant accompanying plants.
Gardening in groups like this makes the growing process more efficient for all parties involved. It fulfills the nutrient needs of the plants and wards off any disadvantageous pest.
Pansies, calendulas, primroses, and sweet peas are great companions for the ranunculus. They are also spring flowers which means that you can start the planting process at the same time.
These plants are also equally long-lasting and are often considered decorative flowers.
The best place to position the ranunculus is in the beds or the corners. If you plant the rhizomes in the garden beds, you will need to provide an 8-inch space for them to grow optimally.
Can ranunculus grow that way indoors? It will experience overcrowding, leading to a lack of nutrients and poor growth.