Ranunculus asiaticus Supreme Light Green® - Persian buttercup

Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Supreme Light Green’ is a rather spectacular florist's ranunculus, developed for cut flowers. Its pale green buds open into large, very double flowers, almost white yet retaining a refreshing pale green hue. This variety brings a soft light, a great deal of refinement, and a very contemporary touch to floral displays. A choice flower for sophisticated, fresh, and elaborate white displays.

This variety belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. The species, Ranunculus asiaticus, bears the common names of Asian buttercup, florist's ranunculus, and garden ranunculus. It is a tuberous perennial with clawed tubers, whose foliage emerges in spring and dies back in summer. Native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East, it grows in open habitats, on stony or sandy soils, under mild winter climates.

'Supreme Light Green' is part of the Supreme series marketed by Monarch Flowers, a line renowned for its fully double, very large flowers and excellent stem quality. The plant first produces a small clump of bright green leaves, deeply cut, borne on long petioles. The foliage is deciduous: it dries after flowering when the rhizome goes dormant. The flower stems reach 50 to 80 cm in height. The flowers are very double and full, composed of many tightly packed petals, regularly overlapping. In 'Supreme Light Green', the buds are soft green, then the flower lightens as it opens to almost white, shaded with pale green. It is this transition that gives it charm. Its diameter can reach 15 cm at full bloom under good growing conditions. Flowering occurs from April to May, sometimes earlier in mild climates or under cover. The flowers last about two weeks in a vase.
The florist's ranunculus, long ago introduced to European gardens from the floras of the Levant, has become one of the great spring flowers for florists. It is a tender plant; its clawed tubers can withstand -5 °C at a pinch in very well-drained soil.

The Persian buttercup can be grown in borders, in the vegetable garden, or in a pot on a terrace. The variety Supreme Light Green® will mainly be planted for cut flowers.