Ranunculus asiaticus Butterfly Eris® - Persian Buttercup

Ranunculus asiaticus Butterfly™ Eris® is a delightful Persian buttercup, appreciated for its colouring and the light, airy appearance of its flowers, and notable for its floriferousness. This selection from the Butterfly™ series produces satiny, semi-double corollas in shades of salmon, apricot, peach, and coral. An excellent cut flower, it also performs beautifully in spring borders and large containers.

This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. The species type Ranunculus asiaticus, Persian buttercup or garden ranunculus, is a tuberous perennial with fleshy underground storage organs that enters dormancy in summer. It is native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. It is found in regions with mild, wet winters and dry summers, in sunny, well-drained, often stony locations.

Butterfly™ Eris® is a horticultural cultivar resulting from the work of the Japanese breeder Aya Engei. The Butterfly™ series is more branched, developing long stems bearing several flowers; its flowering is less heavy than that of older varieties, and it offers excellent vase life.
Eris® stands out for its soft, warm colouring, between tender salmon-pink, coral-pink, and rosy peach, as well as for the elegant semi-double form of its corollas. The plant forms an upright, vigorous clump with rapid growth in spring. It reaches 50 to 60 cm in height and 25 to 35 cm in width within a few months. Its roots are tuberous claws, sensitive to excess water and frost. The deciduous foliage forms a dense basal clump. The leaves are deeply cut, similar to parsley or certain anemones, in a medium to bright green. The stems, which are not hollow, are sturdy and well-branched. Flowering occurs in spring, from April to June, depending on the climate and planting date. Each stem bears several buds and then several flowers 5 to 7 cm in diameter, composed of petals coated with a waxy film that gives them a pearly sheen. The darker centre, accentuated by purplish-brown to blackish stamens, enhances the flower's delicate appearance.
The Persian buttercup is not very hardy: it tolerates brief spells down to -5 °C in very well-drained soil. By lifting its tubers in autumn, you can grow it like a gladiolus.

In the garden, Butterfly Eris® can be used in borders, in small beds, in a flowering kitchen garden, or in a cutting garden. Its soft palette pairs well with smoky, ivory, or bronze tones. It forms beautiful combinations with double early tulip ‘La Belle Epoque’, double early tulip ‘Copper Image’, Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ and Orlaya grandiflora. The two tulips echo its amber and rosy hues, while the anthriscus and orlaya provide a surrounding lightness of lace.