Ranunculus asiaticus Butterfly Hera® - Persian Buttercup

Butterfly™ Hera® brings a more airy, natural look to the Persian buttercup, while still offering a beautiful presence in borders and in cut flower arrangements. Its semi-double, soft pink, wide and satiny flowers open gracefully around a deeper pink centre. It is very floriferous, produces several flowers per stem and has excellent vase life. It is a magnificent spring variety for floral displays, containers and romantic scenes.

This variety belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. It is derived from Ranunculus asiaticus, also known as the Asian buttercup, garden buttercup or Persian buttercup. It is a tuberous perennial native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. Its range extends from the southern islands of the Aegean Sea to western and southwestern Iran. In the wild, it grows in open, sunny, often stony places, such as low, dry summer scrubland. It flowers in spring and goes dormant to escape the heat and drought.

Butterfly™ Hera® is part of the Butterfly™ series, created in Japan by the breeder Aya Engei. This series is distinguished by branched stems, single to semi-double or barely double flowers, and a fine waxy film on the petals, which enhances the brilliance and vase life of the flowers. Hera® has larger flowers than many other Butterfly™ varieties, in a soft pink enhanced by a deeper pink towards the centre. This variety has been noticed in the cut flower world: it won second place in the Glass Tulip Awards in the cut flowers category. In the garden, the plant forms an upright clump 50 to 60 cm tall, up to 70 or 75 cm when grown for cut flowers, and 20 to 30 cm wide. It is fast-growing, flowering in the first year of planting. The stems are thin, not hollow, branched, and quite sturdy. A well-established plant can produce several flower stalks, and each stem carries numerous buds. The 6 to 8 cm wide flowers are like a silky poppy, a double anemone or a wild peony. The petals are thin, satiny, and delicately crinkled. The dominant colour is pink, from sugared almond pink to powdery pink, with a darker centre and a dark heart clearly visible upon opening. The plant flowers from April to June, sometimes as early as March in mild climates. The bright green, divided leaves first form a low clump. The basal leaves are lobed, and those on the stems are more divided. The aerial vegetation is deciduous: it dries up after flowering when the plant goes dormant. The Asian buttercup can withstand spells of around -5/-6 °C in very well-drained soil.
It is often said that Persian buttercups were brought from the Orient to Europe during the era of great Mediterranean exchanges; the Butterfly™ series now offers a lighter, more contemporary interpretation.

In the garden, Butterfly™ Hera® is delightful in a spring garden also designed for picking. It can be planted in a border, in a dedicated cutting garden square, or in a beautiful container. You can pair it with tulip ‘Apricot Impression’, double daffodil ‘Replete’, Nigella papillosa ‘Delft Blue’ and peony ‘Coral Charm’, whose large, satiny flowers take over as the season progresses. In the garden or in a vase, these flowers create a charming ensemble, where soft pinks, apricot tones, smoky blues and coral highlights create a fresh blend. 
You can lift the tubers in autumn, before frost, to grow this plant like a gladiolus.