Hello, here i am again with a little problem. but big, in a way. my ranunculus - bought this spring in a bag, as dried roots - are not looking good at all. out of 10, i guess 8 started shooting leaves, but after a few months only 1 looks like a real plant (with 2-3 little red flowers already) and the others look sick - very few leaves and they are mostly turning yellow. some plants barely have 2-3 yellowish leaves. could this be because there is a plum tree very close to them? they still get a lot of sun. but there is something black (like a dust) falling from the plum tree and settling on the ranunculus. would this be the problem? i thought the rain would wash it off but it didn't. also the ground/soil gets quite hard and dry after the rain... sometimes i water them when i go to visit parents... like 2-3 times a week, if it doesn't rain. so... not sure what to do... do they like sun or shade? do i need to water them more often or they like it dry? would it be too late to love them to a plum-free area ??? THANKS for the coming replies Calin
I've never managed to grow those, but I know they like full sun and do not like to be dry. If the leaves are yellowing, it sounds like they're going into dormancy for some reason. Happened to mine last year, I never could figure out why.
That is just weird.... out of 8, i got two blooming... a red one and a white one... but they look mush smaller than the big blooms i got used to on websites...etc... that is funny. they are in the sun, but like i said..there is a plum tree above and dropping some black stuff on them.... the plum tree doesn't look that healthy... there may be some influence! Thanks Droopy
You could have aphids colonizing the undersides of your plum tree leaves...the "black stuff" on the Rununculus plants could be their sweet droppings. It is possible that some of these aphids could have fallen down onto your Ranuculus'. The most likely aphid sort is the white, wooly ones, although the green ones can get onto the plum trees too, but less often (here anyway). The yellowing leaves also makes me think that he plants could also have a red spider mite infestation. You can break-off a small affected part and hold it up against the sky. If you have these little beasts, you will be able to see small webs between the plant leaves and the main stalk of the plant. Should you be unlucky enough to have either one of these pests you can get rid of them with any number of commercial sprays...personally I use spiritus and liquid 'green soap' mixed with water---This makes a biodegradeable solution that is easy to apply and is gone withing 4-7 days. I wish you lots of luck with solving this problem.
It might just be the wrong time of the year for them. I think ours do their thing about the same time as the tulips. Deanna :-D
