Ficaria verna
Lesser celandine, Pilewort
Also known as Ranunculus ficaria, Ranunculus chrysocephala
- Height × spread
- 0.05m × 0.2m
- Position
- Part shade
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Spring
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This has lush, bright-green, heart-shaped leaves, an excellent foil for the shiny, golden-yellow flowers that appear in spring. It is a good natured, often invasive, plant that becomes dormant in summer. It is commonly found growing amongst grass in moist areas and carpets the rich soil in deciduous woodlands. The plant flowers as early as February, at the same time as many of the crocuses and anemones in the garden.
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 0.05m
- Spread
- 0.2m
- Season of interest
- Spring
- Flowers in
- Spring
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Sun or shade
- Likes part shade, likes light shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Damp and wet soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Ground cover, Bee attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.
Summer
Summer - early · Outdoors
Feed a general fertiliser
Where plants have moderate needs for nutrients, they can simply be given a general feed, fairly early in the growth season so that the growth has plenty of time to harden off before the cold weather.
Give plants a general boost with the application of a general purpose fertiliser which is spread around the root area of the plant, with amounts as directed on the feed label.
Found in
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