Ranunculus asiaticus Romance Loubeyres® - Persian buttercup

Ranunculus asiaticus Romance™ Loubeyres® is a top-class florist's ranunculus, bearing very double and large flowers on long stems. Its mauve-pink colour turns to a violet shade at full bloom. An excellent cut flower, it can also create beautiful spring pot displays or take its place in a sheltered border in light soil.

This variety belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. The botanical species, Ranunculus asiaticus, is commonly called the florist's ranunculus, garden ranunculus, Asian ranunculus or oriental ranunculus. In the wild, the natural form is widespread from the eastern Mediterranean to western and south-western Iran. In these regions, winters are relatively mild, and summers are dry. It is a tuberous perennial, more precisely a plant with fleshy claws, which becomes dormant in summer.

Romance™ is a Japanese lineage selected by Aya Engei for cut flower production. It is characterised by very large flowers, long firm stems, and good vase life. Loubeyres® has whitish flower buds, which then open to a mauve-pink to lilac-pink shade. The flowers are tight rosettes with numerous fine, silky petals. They look similar to a peony and certain old roses. They measure 8.5 to 9 cm in diameter at full bloom. The plant forms an upright, fairly compact clump, 50 to 60 cm tall in flower and 20 to 30 cm wide. The foliage emerges in late winter and disappears after flowering; it is deeply cut, bright green, slightly crinkled, and resembles flat-leaf parsley. The tuberous rhizome of this ranunculus dislikes excess stagnant water. Its hardiness is low: it must be protected from frost. Flowering occurs from April to May in the garden, earlier under cover. 
This variety is well-suited to forcing, to produce flowers from January.

This Loubeyres® variety is first and foremost a beautiful flower for home-grown spring bouquets. It will also go well at the edge of a border, in a flower bed or in a large container. Its colour combines well with white tones, black and velvety purples, and dark foliage. In mild climates, plant it in a generous group in light soil; elsewhere, growing in a container to be overwintered frost-free is preferable. To accompany it, choose, for example, the almost black double late tulip ‘Black Hero’, anemone coronaria ‘The Bride’, white and fresh, tulip 'Double Late Angelique' or Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ for its lightness and purple foliage.
By lifting the tubers in autumn, before frosts, you can grow this plant like a gladiolus.