Ranunculus asiaticus Romance Orleans® - Persian buttercup

Romance™ Orléans® is a florist's ranunculus with large double flowers in creamy white, delicately tinted with pink. This charming variety from the Romance™ series flowers in spring. It is also distinguished by its long, sturdy stems and excellent vase life as a cut flower. In a flower bed, border or container, it creates a soft and refined scene.

This plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. The species Ranunculus asiaticus is known by the common names florist's ranunculus, Asiatic ranunculus, garden ranunculus or Oriental ranunculus. It is a tuberous perennial with seasonal growth, which grows and flowers during winter, then enters dormancy with the arrival of high heat. The type species is native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East; it is found from Greece and Cyprus to western Iran, via Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Egypt, Libya and Iraq.

The cultivar Romance™ Orléans® belongs to a Japanese series selected for cut flowers, characterised by very large flowers, long, sturdy stems, and early flowering. The breeder is Aya Engei. The plant first forms a compact clump of medium green, deeply divided leaves with a soft texture. The above-ground growth is deciduous: it develops in late winter, accompanies the flowering, then dries up when the plant enters dormancy. The flowers are very double, almost round at full bloom, composed of a multitude of fine, tightly packed, slightly satiny petals. They can reach 7 to 9 cm in diameter. In Orléans®, the dominant shade is a creamy yellow, highlighted with small pink flecks, especially towards the centre and on the edge of some petals. Flowering takes place from February to April, depending on the climate, planting date and growing method. In the garden, it is more likely to be from March to late April, or even early May. The stems are solid, sturdy, not hollow. In open ground, the plant in flower most often reaches 40 to 60 cm in height with a 20 to 25 cm spread. It does not sucker and is not invasive.
Asiatic ranunculus is not a very hardy plant; its tubers tolerate about -5 °C at peak in very well-drained soil.

In the garden, Romance™ Orléans® deserves a prime spot, in a prized border, along a well-used path, near the house. It can also be planted in large containers to decorate the patio or balcony. In the vegetable garden, plant it in rows like gladioli for a supply of cut flowers. Its large, romantic flowers pair well with other spring blooms in soft or bolder tones. It makes very beautiful combinations with double tulip Finola, double daffodil Replete, Madonna lily (Lilium candidum), and lily-flowered tulip Merlot.
Also try pairing it with the perennial leek, Allium ampeloprasum, unexpected in the ornamental garden but decorative with its large flower globes.