Corm Comparison: Ranunculus

Some mixed “Sunset Shades” ranunculus from last year

It’s time here in Zone 5 to pre-sprout the ranunculus corms. The first batch was soaked and planted in a flat, placed in the dark corner of the basement where it’s cool and will be ignored for at least a week. Well, I probably won’t be able to resist peeking in now and then just to give them an encouraging word and check on moisture levels, but it usually takes at least 10-14 days before any green shows. The second batch will be done as soon as I finish this post! Spoiler alert! Ranunculus did not make the Top 10 Performers of 2022! Some year they might, when I learn to get the timing perfected and the weather is just right! I liked growing them well enough, and felt they were valuable in that “after the daffodils and tulips are gone but the zinnias aren’t quite ready yet” lull. They definitely would have been in a “Top 20” but they didn’t make enough production over a long enough period to merit the “Top 10”. And they were not large enough to be focal flowers, only supporting cast members. Maybe when I find the right corms production will be higher. Last year I purchased a few corms from Van Engelen and a few from Longfields. I didn’t treat them in the same way culture-wise, so there was no way to make a fair comparison and I took few photos of the flowers and no photos of the corms. I had flowers, but they were not as abundant per plant as I’d hoped and not as large as most promo photos show. This year, I’m determined to do a better job!

The orange flowers in this bouquet are ranunculus…not a great photo, but apparently the only one I took!

I was curious to see if different vendors offered different sizes of corms, and how the prices compared. So this year’s crop will contain corms from 5 different companies. I waited to pre-sprout any corms until all had arrived so that I could take a comparison photo. And now that I see it on the screen, I realize I should have put a coin or a bottle cap or something on the poster for a size reference. Too late now as some of the corms are already soaked and planted! I also should have put the price per corm on the poster for easy reference…..maybe next year?

Ranunculus corms from 5 different companies (and that should be Van Engelen)

First of all you should know that each corm shown is representative of the AVERAGE size of the corms for each company that I received. I did not pick the largest, or the smallest but chose what seemed to be most common. Some companies (K. van Bourgondien and Fleur Farms had very consistently equal sized corms)

Secondly, all of the ranunculus corms are Telecote varieties EXCEPT Fleur Farms, which are Amandine (generally more expensive than Telecote because they supposedly produce a much larger flower.) The fastest to ship was Easy To Grow Bulbs…I ordered on a Sunday and received them on Tuesday morning!!!

Here’s the price per corm breakdown, along with the minimum order per variety pricing

Easy To Grow, by far the largest corms, many 2″ across and as long….1.10 per corm (based on 10 corm pricing) Can’t wait to see if bigger corms make bigger or more flowers per plant…or both! Wouldn’t that be great?

Fleur Farm 1.24 per corm (based on 10 corm pricing, but these are Amandine…and they came in a fancy be-ribboned organza bag with a colorful “thank you for ordering” post card. I’m really eager to see how these produce. “Amandine” is supposed to be a bigger flower, but the corms I received are smaller than most of the Telecotes. Time will tell!

Holland Bulb Farm 28 cents (based on a 30 corm pricing) but I must say that so far each 30 corm bag I’ve opened only had 28 or 29 corms! They definitely had the smallest corms, and many of them were broken. There was quite a range in sizes; some much larger than the one shown and some much smaller. But if they do well, that’s quite a deal!

Van Engelen 75 cents per corm (based on a 50 corm pricing) and remember this company is wholesale only so one needs a business license to order. The flowers were acceptable last year, and definitely outperformed the Longfield corms but I’d like bigger, fuller flowers.

K. van Bourgondien 36 cents per corm (based on 25 corm pricing) This is a glossy catalog company…I get three or four copies each year so they spend a lot on printing and postage! The corms are not quite 1″ long. They definitely had the smallest corms, and many of them were broken.

I’ve added more pastel shades (last year I just grew “Sunset Shades” and an Orange/Red mix) and lots more salmon, plus a dark purple to compliment the asters and stock that bloom at the same time. Hopefully I will remember to take more photos, and do an evaluation of performance for each of the companies, so I’ll know who I want to place my order with next year.

Maybe this will be helpful to others. At least it gives me a record so I’ll have the beginning info for evaluation purposes later on. Happy Thursday, and have a great weekend!

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