{"id":4645,"date":"2026-03-23T11:22:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=4645"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:22:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:22:53","slug":"winter-buttercups-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/winter-buttercups-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Buttercups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In HMS Pinafore, one of the most celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the character \u201cButtercup\u201d introduces herself in song with the following words, \u201cI\u2019m called Little Buttercup, dear Little Buttercup, though I could never tell why.\u201d
\nI thought of this the other day when I spotted the golden-orange buttercups now on display under one of the hydrangea bushes in my back garden. The sight of the golden orange flowers, petals wide open in the sun, made me want to burst into song after the long winter.
\nMy \u201cbuttercup\u201d is in fact a winter aconite or Eranthis hyemalis. Its buttercup-like appearance stems from the fact that it is a member of the large Ranunculaceae or buttercup family. Thought it might not seem so, it is buttercup time right now in the garden, as those other early spring buttercups, the hellebores, are in various stages of awakening as well. They need a few more weeks of climatic convincing before they will burst into flower, but the winter aconite is already there. Mine goes by the varietal name \u2018Orange Glow\u2019. The \u201cglow\u201d is real, though the orange is more a suggestion than a dominant color.
\nEranthis hyemalis is a low grower, sprouting from rhizomes and reaching no more than six inches in height, with an equal spread. The little buttercups, which are usually yellow, but may be golden orange like mine, appear at the tops of the short stalks, surrounded by a ruff of green bracts. 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.
\nEranthis have flowered for centuries in their native areas\u2014Western Europe, from southern France to Bulgaria, Turkey, Kurdistan well as Iran and Afghanistan. Eranthis hyemalis arrived in England early. The plants were first mentioned by the celebrated English herbalist John Gerard in his Catalogue, published in 1596, during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth. At least one eranthis plant list mentions that \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 was first discovered in a Copenhagen, Denmark botanical garden. It was probably started off as a random seedling of a yellow-flowered plant. Once noticed and propagated, it made its way in the world, probably first in the gardens of collectors, and later in ordinary gardeners\u2019 plots.
\nAmerican listings for \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 are not plentiful. As with many other plants\u2014especially specimens that I develop crushes on, \u2018Orange Glow\u2019 seems to be much more popular and available in Great Britain and Europe than it is here.
\nWith international affairs the way they are, I was lucky that I did not have to cross the pond to get one. I received mine from snowdrop guru Hitch Lyman well over a decade ago. I don\u2019t believe he has had sufficient stocks to sell it since. European catalog vendors sometimes carry this and other varieties, like \u2018Guinea Gold\u2019, which has yellow-gold flowers and bronzy foliage, and \u2018Flore Pleno\u2019, which boasts double yellow buttercups.
\nWe Americans do not have to suffer, however, since the yellow-flowered varieties 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.
\nYour 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. Many experts think that this method is ideal for both winter aconite and snowdrops.
\nSome 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 twelve flowering specimens,
\nAnd I have every reason to believe the expansion trend will continue.
\nIf you start with live plants, give them a bit of water to help them get established. 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.
\nNo 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 at times of year when they are dormant.
\nYou 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. As the daylight returns to the landscape, the little golden flowers add just a bit more brightness.
\nSome merchandisers sell winter aconite as \u201cEranthis cilicica\u201d, which may be listed as a separate eranthis species. Depending on the source, may alternately be classified as a group within the hyemalis species. Don\u2019t worry about the confusion. The yellow buttercups are the same.
\nBarring 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. Print catalog available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In HMS Pinafore, one of the most celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the character \u201cButtercup\u201d introduces herself in song with the following words, \u201cI\u2019m called Little Buttercup, dear Little Buttercup, though I could never tell why.\u201d I thought of this the other day when I spotted the golden-orange buttercups now on display under one of … 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":[4,6,2,1],"tags":[752,3267,2835,1803,751],"class_list":["post-4645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-uncategorized","tag-buttercup-family","tag-early-blooming-flowers","tag-eranthis-hyemalis","tag-ranunculaceae","tag-winter-aconite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4645","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=4645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4647,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4645\/revisions\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}