buttercups

Do any of you have experience with the variety of buttercup called 'Brazen Hussy'
(ranunculus ficaria Brazen Hussy)?
My understanding is that ranunculus ficaria can be fairly aggressive, so I've avoided it.
But there are a million cultivars which are supposedly better behaved.
Brazen Hussy is a dark leaved cultivar which is not supposed to be aggressive.
I planted a couple over the past year or two.
I thought they looked nice with the bright yellow flowers set off by the dark leaves (pic 1).
But this year I'm a little alarmed at several patches of buttercups with green leaves
adjacent to the dark leaved plants (pic 2) - and please don't mention the weeds!
I presume these are revertants to the straight species?
Do any of you have horror stories about the straight species?
If not, I still like the bright bloom and they look nice in the woods and I might let them run a little.
But I'll nip them in the bud if you guys report 'houttuynia-like' experiences...

Sorry, no experience here to weigh in with. Maybe my DG neighbor friend David (greenthumb99) does. He is always a real good source for info. Cute flower and gotta love the cultivar name!

Weerobin - Your climate is very similar to where I live, so it is a decent comparison location. If in a low/damp area Ranunculus ficaria (Lesser Celendine) is one of the most invasive alien plants in this region, destroying large areas of native habitat in low lying areas. I know that you cherish your extensive woodland plant collection. Do yourself a favor and remove all the Ranunculus ficaria ASAP and look for tiny bulbs similar to those of Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's Breeches) which are produced profusely.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lesser+Celendine&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Thanks for your response. I'll get rid of them, including the 'brazen hussy', since I suspect my spreading ranunculus is reversion to type from the cultivar.

I also am overrun with lesser celandine that came in with compost from a friend.
Good luck with finding all the little bulbils in the soil.

What about Barren Strawberry,Waldensteinia fragarioides as a substitute?
It's a native woodland ground cover for dry shade that has small yellow flowers and is not invasive in my experience.


This message was edited Apr 24, 2013 3:26 AM

semper -- that is a lovely shot, and I need lots of dry shade groundcover. But I have a lot of wild strawberry that I hate. It is easy to distinguish the two? My worry is that the wild strawberry would get into the Barren Strawberry, and then I'd have a mess on my hands.

happy, there is a difference in the leaf shape and color of the Waldensteinia (yellower green and more fan shaped) and the aggressive wild strawberry. The wild strawberry runs underground and the Barren strawberry is a clumper.
I have the W. fragarioides planted with wood phlox P. divaracata and Sedum ternatum all natives for me.
The Sedum ternatum is a very good spreader also and very different in appearance so you might choose that also but I don't know if the wild strawberry will out compete both if it's not removed.

I absolutely adore Sedum ternatum -- it forms a tight mass for me (rather than wandering here and there as some sedums do), and is lovely when in bloom.

I'll try the Waldensteinia -- I think I have a piece in a pot -- and keep my fingers crossed that I can manage it! I definitely try to remove every sprig of wild strawberry, but anyone who looked at my yard would think I was breeding it.

Your photo is absolutely lovely. That is how I want my garden to look....