Weedy Ranunculus

februarysgirl

Last year I bought some Ranunculus bulbs from Farmer Gracy and planted them not expecting any growth until spring. That's not what happened though and before long they started sending up shoots They've been kept in pots in my pop up greenhouse all winter and while they've continued to grow, it hasn't been particularly impressive. I would go so far as to call it weedy. A couple of the pots have mustered the strength to send up a thicker stem which now have buds on but I'm wondering what to do with the rest of the growth. I feel inclined to cut off the older, unimpressive growth which definite isn't going to come to anything in the hope it'll prompt more shoots. I've never grown bulbs before so that could be the absolute worst thing to do. What's your advice in this situation?

Fairygirl

I think they've been too cosseted and it's prompted weak, lanky growth at the wrong time of year.
I got some two years ago, on a whim, and although I don't really like them, I've kept them as they can go into a border behind some other stuff. Mine were put in the growhouse, in pots, over winter, and they've been outside for a week or two. They seem to be quite tough to be honest. You might have been better just leaving them outside, with only basic protection, and they'd have been slower into growth. 
I can't even remember how they grow, so I don't know if it would be a problem taking off the manky foliage. Probably not. 

They could do with a better depth of soil anyway - they don't have much there.  I covered mine with some more compost even as they were growing. Mine are only an inch or two in size just now   

februarysgirl

That was the last of the compost I had at the time and didn't fall over myself to get any more because I wasn't expecting them to do anything for months. A few weeks later when I went to put the compost on, I saw they'd already started sprouting. Due to my inexperience with bulbs I assumed it was too late to put anything more on top of them. 

Think I'll try your advice next time to slow down the growth 🙂

Fairygirl

I'm sure they'll still be fine @februarysgirl. It was an experiment for me too.
I had a look at mine yesterday because of your query! They're all pretty small, but seem healthy. I'll probably put them in a border, so I might even bung them in today, and see what happens.
If you had some decent garden soil you could probably top them up - just like you can do with most bulbs.  
The weather's to turn colder at the beginning of the week, so that'll slow them down