Ranunculus asiaticus Brushmark Verona® - Persian Buttercup

Ranunculus asiaticus Brushmark Verona® is a Persian buttercup with nostalgic charm. Its large, very double flowers display a delicately faded variegation, with a base of yellow creamy pink to light beige streaked with burgundy and plum around a darker centre. This variety is suitable for flowering pots, spring borders, and cut flower arrangements, where its colouring and style stand out.

This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. It is commonly called the Persian buttercup or Asian buttercup. It is a tuberous perennial with fleshy claws, often grown as an annual in cold regions. In the wild, the species Ranunculus asiaticus is native to a vast area ranging from southeastern Europe to western Asia and northeastern Africa. It is found in the Mediterranean and nearby regions, from Greece, Crete, and Cyprus to Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Sinai, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, and Iran. The horticultural forms cultivated today differ greatly from the botanical type, whose flowers are simpler.

Brushmark Verona® is marketed within the Brushmark line from Monarch Flowers. This line is distinguished by large flowers strongly marked with coloured streaks, with good vase life. The plant develops an upright clump within a few weeks. It reaches 50 to 60 cm in height at full flowering, sometimes more, depending on soil richness and climate, and 20 to 30 cm in width. The deciduous foliage disappears after flowering, with the arrival of summer heat. It is a bright green, very divided, lobed, somewhat like parsley or certain anemones. The flower stems are upright, flexible, and sensitive to wind. Flowering occurs in spring, most often from April to June. The double flowers are composed of numerous fine, tightly packed, slightly ruffled petals. Depending on the growing method, they measure 10-12, or even 15 cm in diameter. The base of the petals is not truly yellow, but rather creamy pink, warm ivory, or blush beige, broadly veined with burgundy, with a darker centre. After flowering, the plant enters summer dormancy. Its crown is not very hardy and only tolerates brief frosts in very well-drained soil, so it may be preferable to grow it in large pots.
Arriving from the Near East, the Persian buttercup has, over the centuries, become one of the favourite flowers for spring bouquets in Europe.

In the garden, Brushmark Verona® should be planted not far from the house, where the pattern of its petals can be admired up close. It does very well in a deep planter, a sunny border, or in a small spring border. To accompany it, you can choose the double white Asian buttercup, parrot tulip ‘Mysterious Parrot’ and Anemone coronaria 'Bicolor'. Early in the season, Iris reticulata ‘Dijt’ also forms a very beautiful combination with its rosy plum shades. Cut at just the right moment and placed in a vase, its garnet-brushed flowers evoke 17th-century Flemish still lifes.