Ranunculus
A genuine California crop, February to May and at its best in March and April. Hollow stems that want shallow water, and a head that keeps opening for days after it reaches the table.
Hydrangea, Ranunculus & Stock Symphony Bouquet
Ranunculus & Stock Soft Bloom Bouquet
Ranunculus, Carnations & Eucalyptus Elegant Bouquet
February to May, and best in March and April
Ranunculus is one of the few flowers in this shop with a real California season, and we would rather tell you when it is than pretend it is always at its peak. The crop runs from February into May. March and April are the weeks to buy it. Outside that window it comes from further away, costs more, and opens less reliably.
| February | First stems. Shorter, smaller heads, highest price of the run. |
|---|---|
| March and April | Peak. Long stems, dense petal count, the widest colour range and the best value of the year. |
| May | Tail end. Still good, but quality starts to vary between growers. |
| June to January | Imported when it is available at all. Ask us and we will tell you what the market actually had that morning. |
Hollow stems change how you keep them
A ranunculus stem is a hollow tube with a thin wall. It bruises if you grip it, it kinks if the vase is too tall, and it drinks fast. Three things follow from that. Keep the water shallow, two or three inches, because a long submerged stem goes slimy from the inside. Change it daily rather than every other day. And give the bouquet something to lean on, because a narrow neck holds these stems upright while a wide bowl lets them fold over the rim.
They keep moving after they arrive
Ranunculus is cut in bud and opens in layers, so what we hand over on Tuesday is not what sits on the table on Friday. The head roughly doubles. Buy it two or three days before the day that matters, not on the morning of it.
What it suits
It behaves like the spring flower it is: papery, soft-edged, quietly expensive-looking. It works for a birthday, an early anniversary, an apology, a new baby. It works less well for a formal condolence, where the stillness of white sympathy flowers reads better. In the vase it pairs with stock and with hydrangea, and both of those turn up in the arrangements here. When the season closes in May, we say so rather than quietly substituting, which is the habit described in why I still buy the flowers myself.
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