{"id":3896,"date":"2023-02-06T08:32:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T16:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3896"},"modified":"2023-02-06T08:32:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T16:32:31","slug":"winter-buttercups-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/winter-buttercups-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Buttercups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Aconite<\/a>Sometimes people see things in my garden that they don\u2019t expect, like neatness, an absence of weeds and crisply clipped hedges.\u00a0 In the fall, I often notice looks of astonishment on the faces of the local dog walkers\u2014who keep close tabs on the front garden\u2014when they notice fall-blooming crocuses springing up just as the asters are dying down.\u00a0 Those dog walkers can\u2019t see the back garden, but if they did, they would be amazed by the golden-orange buttercups now on display under one of the hydrangea bushes.<\/p>\n

My \u201cbuttercup\u201d is in fact a winter aconite or Eranthis cilicica. The resemblance is not coincidental, as winter aconite is a member of the large Ranunculaceae or buttercup family.\u00a0 Its buttercup relatives, the hellebores, are in various stages of awakening across the garden, but the delicate-looking little flowers have them beaten by a mile.\u00a0 My aconite goes by the varietal name \u2018Orange Glow\u2019.\u00a0 The \u201cglow\u201d is real, though the orange is more a suggestion than a dominant color.<\/p>\n

Eranthis cilicica and its more common relative, Eranthis hyemalis, are low growers, reaching no more than six inches in height, with an equal spread.\u00a0 The little buttercups, which are yellow in the hyemalis species and may be yellow or golden-orange in the cilicica types, appear at the tops of the short stalks, surrounded by a ruff of green bracts.\u00a0 The true leaves, which sprout at the plants\u2019 bases, come after the flowers are gone, and the entire plant disappears as early spring advances to mid spring.<\/p>\n

Eranthis have flowered for centuries in their native areas\u2014Western Europe, from southern France to Bulgaria, for hyemnalis, and Turkey, Kurdistan, Iran and Afghanistan for the cilicica species. It is unclear when cilicica aconites arrived in England, but the more common Eranthis hyemalis were first mentioned by the celebrated English herbalist John Gerard in his Catalogue<\/em>, published in 1596, \u00a0during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth.\u00a0 At least one eranthis plant list mentions that \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 was first discovered in a Copenhagen, Denmark botanical garden.\u00a0 It was probably a random seedling of another cilicica plant.\u00a0 American listings for \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 are not plentiful.\u00a0 As with many other plants\u2014especially specimens that I develop crushes on\u2014\u2018Orange Glow\u2019 seems to be much more popular and available in Great Britain and Europe than it is here.<\/p>\n

Fortunately I did not have to cross the pond to get one.\u00a0 I received mine from snowdrop guru Hitch Lyman about nine years ago.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe he has had sufficient stocks to sell it since.\u00a0 European catalog vendors sometimes carry this and other cilicica varieties, like \u2018Guinea Gold\u2019, which has yellow-gold flowers and bronzy foliage, and \u2018Flore Pleno\u2019, which boasts double yellow buttercups.<\/p>\n

We Americans do not have to suffer, however, since the appealing hyemalis species and the more common yellow cilicica type are readily available from bulb specialists. All you have to do is plant the bulbs two to three inches under the soil in the fall in expectation of spring bloom.<\/p>\n

Your gardening friends and neighbors may not be privy to the beautiful secret that is winter aconite, but if they are, and you are on good terms, offer to trade a favor or two for a small clump lifted \u201cin the green\u201d, right after bloom time is over.\u00a0 Many experts think that this method is ideal for both winter aconite and snowdrops.<\/p>\n

Some references say the plants do best in slightly alkaline soil, but mine have been fruitful and multiplied in the same acid soil that happily supports rhododendrons and azaleas. The original plant from nine years ago has now grown to about ten flowering specimens, which pleases me greatly.<\/p>\n

If you start with live plants, give them a bit of water to help them get established.\u00a0 The bulbs, once installed in fall, pretty much take care of themselves. I think the more common types increase even faster than my \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 because they set seed very efficiently.<\/p>\n

No matter whether you start with bulbs or plants, it\u2019s wise to mark where you installed your winter aconites so you don\u2019t dig them up inadvertently.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t see winter aconite in every garden, but when you do, you are bound to feel better about everything, even if the day is a gray as moles\u2019 fur.\u00a0 As the daylight returns to the landscape, the little golden flowers add just a bit more brightness.<\/p>\n

Barring donations from generous neighbors, a good source for winter aconite bulbs is Brent and Becky\u2019s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane Gloucester, VA 23061; (877) 661-2852; www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Print catalog available.<\/p>\n

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To keep things moist and well insulated, mulch your eranthis, preferably with shredded leaves or other organic material.<\/p>\n

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Sometimes people see things in my garden that they don\u2019t expect, like neatness, an absence of weeds and crisply clipped hedges.\u00a0 In the fall, I often notice looks of astonishment on the faces of the local dog walkers\u2014who keep close tabs on the front garden\u2014when they notice fall-blooming crocuses springing up just as the asters … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2,5],"tags":[2836,752,1371,2834,2835,1803,2402,751],"class_list":["post-3896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-spring","category-winter","tag-orange-glow","tag-buttercup-family","tag-early-flowers","tag-eranthis-cilicica","tag-eranthis-hyemalis","tag-ranunculaceae","tag-spring-blooming-bulbs","tag-winter-aconite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3896"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3897,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896\/revisions\/3897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}