Where do buttercups grow? They grow in many places and prefer areas with cooler climates. Read on to find out more about this beautiful and vibrant flower.
Where Do Buttercups Grow?
Buttercups grow in a variety of regions, but predominantly in Northern Europe as they prefer colder regions and temperate climates. You should expect to see them in meadows, swamps, bogs and woodlands as they prefer a moist environment. There are also buttercup varieties in Eurasia and the Americas.
What You Should Know About Buttercups
Buttercup, scientifically known as Ranunculus, is a flowering plant in the Ranunculaceae family. This type of plant has about 600 species (some sources even go as high as 2,000 species).
Among the most famous buttercups are the creeping buttercup, which is known to be tough with really strong roots, the bulbous buttercup, and meadow buttercup.
Look
These buttercups are found in a lot of places and are often considered as weeds. They are beautiful weeds at that.
They bloom in the spring and summer. The latter is particularly the case for most buttercups that invade the gardens as weeds.
Moreover
Buttercups are generally perennial plants. There are some that are considered annuals and biennials.
The petals are in a rosette, which make for a beautiful sight when in bloom.
One of the reasons why buttercups become abundant is the way runners grow and develop new complete plants with roots and rosettes.
They are not just gorgeous
Buttercups also have medical features. They can be used in traditional medicines as treatment for rheumatism, intermittent fever, and redness of the skin.
However, buttercups are also poisonous. They should not be present in areas where animals graze.
Here are more interesting facts:
- Some species grow up to 16 inches in height.
- They are mostly yellow in color but some species are white, red, and orange.
- There is a unique feature in buttercups where they have a pool of nectar at the bottom of the petals that would attract insects to encourage pollination.
- Buttercups bear a fruit called achene.
Why are they considered weeds?
Any plant that has not been propagated by choice is always considered a weed. Gardeners hate weeds because they compete with the plants in terms of nutrients.
Instead of all nutrients going to the propagated plants, part will now go to the weeds.
In other words
It doesn’t matter that buttercups are gorgeous. If you are growing vegetables and other flowers, you just don’t want buttercups to be stealing nutrients that should go to the propagated plants.
Buttercups are also quite hard to eradicate.
Why?
It’s because of the highly evasive rhizomes in buttercups. You might have removed all the buttercups you found in the garden, but in a week or two, you will find new flowers blooming.
You cannot totally get rid of the rhizomes. When you remove the entire buttercup structure, chances are the rhizomes will snap off and start another cycle of growth.
Where Do Buttercups Thrive?
Regionally, they are abundant in Northern Europe. Buttercups prefer colder regions and temperate climates.
They also prefer a moist environment. You see an abundance of them in meadows, fields, swamps, bogs, woodlands.
Some are also found at the side of the road.
Let’s get into specifics:
The tall meadow buttercup is a native of Eurasia, but has since been found in a lot of places around the world.
The swamp buttercup, on the other hand, is a mainstay in the eastern North American wetlands.
Yep! Some of the species are aquatic
Other aquatics are the pond crowfoot and common water crowfoot.
Moreover, there is the butter daisy, which is a native of Eurasia but has since been naturalized in the Americas.
For the creeping buttercup, which is the most famous species of all, it is mostly seen in many lawns. While some species of buttercup could grow over a foot tall, the creeping buttercup only grows up to two to three inches.
Generally, buttercups prefer temperate climates but the creeping buttercup can tolerate warmer temperatures, which is why you see them in almost all lawns.
The fact is
Even with short runners, the creeping buttercup can spread easily. While it does look beautiful, just remember that the nature of the weeds is to invade.
This means that it will compete with the nutrients that should go to your lawn or flower bed.
Its beauty makes it tolerable
A lot of gardeners or garden enthusiasts tolerate the presence of buttercups because they are attractive. Who wants to get rid of that gorgeous bright yellow hue that dots the garden?
If you have a lawn, the buttercups make for a wonderful addition. The yellows would break the monotony of the green grass.
When it comes to lawns
Buttercups are generally okay. This means that even if they take some nutrients, it’s not by much.
Grass and buttercups can co-exist just fine.
However
They are more of a competition when found on garden beds. Buttercups are direct competition to the nutrients that should go to vegetables and flowers.
But for shrubs and other larger plants, buttercups are not much trouble.
But take note:
They could multiply quite easily. If you allow them to just grow with your shrubs, they would eventually take over the area.
If you really want them, it’s probably best to grow them yourself. This way, you can monitor their growth and control them rather than just allowing buttercups to proliferate by themselves.
How to Grow Buttercups
You already know that buttercups prefer a temperate climate.
That’s why they would need a soil that is well-drained. The soil should be quite loose and not hot at all.
If you are in an area with a warmer climate, it’s best to grow buttercups in partial shade.
In addition
Living in a warmer region also means that the soil tends to go hot. Add some mulch to keep the soil moist.
When is the right time to plant?
If you live in warmer areas, the best time to plant buttercups is in the fall. You would then have blooming buttercups by spring.
In colder areas, plant buttercups in the spring. You can then expect flowers in the summer.
Buttercups are generally perennials, which means that they will flower every year for around 10 years. However, you can’t expect flowers during its first year of growth.
Get this:
There are a number of ways to grow buttercups. They essentially grow by themselves through the rhizomes, or you can plant them using their seeds.
They also grow through tubers and fibrous roots.
Choosing the species
As mentioned, there are hundreds of species of buttercups. The type you choose should be based on the region you are in.
If you live in colder regions, find a type of buttercup that would flourish in a cooler environment. It goes the same if you live in a warm area.
Of course, you also choose based on what you think will be beautiful for your garden.
Then
You can plant buttercups in containers or you can sow them directly onto the garden soil. They would make lovely border plants.
Now, since buttercups are considered weeds, it also means that they would grow with minimal monitoring and maintenance.
This means:
You need to take care of them the way you do regular flowering plants.
Buttercups are actually considered low-maintenance compared to other flowering plants.
1. Water regularly
We’ve mentioned multiple times that buttercups prefer cooler areas. That’s essentially a clue to make sure that they are not exposed to too much heat.
That’s why you have to water them regularly to ensure that the soil is always moist and will never dry out.
2. Mulch
This is yet another way to ensure that the soil is always moist. Mulching is one way to protect the soil from losing moisture through evaporation.
When you protect the soil, you also protect the buttercups.
3. Deadhead
Remove dead flowers to encourage more flowers to bloom.
Summary
Where do buttercups grow? Most species are natives of Northern Europe, hence, are popular in the region. Some are also natives of Eurasia and thrive there as well. However, since buttercups are generally easy to grow, they have since been naturalized in other parts of the world.
Generally, buttercups love cooler environments. So, you can expect them to thrive in areas with cold climates.
But since buttercups are easy to grow, you can also propagate them in warmer regions with the proper care. Yes, buttercups are usually considered weeds. However, you can also grow them since they provide very pretty flowers.
Useful Resources
- Buttercup Control: How to Kill Unwanted Buttercup Weeds In Your Garden – Gardening Know How
- The Secret to a Low-Maintenance Flower Garden? Beautiful Weeds – Wall Street Journal
