Bulbous buttercup

Ranunculus bulbosus

In other languages: Knolboterbloem (Nederlands) · Renoncule bulbeuse (Français)

Grows wild in Belgium.

Bulbous buttercup is a perennial buttercup of dry, sunny grassland. It grows on thin, often chalky or sandy soil: in dunes, on dykes, on verges, on sunny banks and in old, dry pastures. In Belgium it is locally fairly common, especially on the coast and on the chalky soils in the south, but it has declined in many places as grassland has been fertilised. You can recognise it by the sepals, which are folded right back against the flower stalk, and by the swollen, bulb-like base of the stem. It flowers early, from April to June, and is then busily visited by bees, flies and beetles for its nectar and pollen.

Caution: Poisonous: as in all buttercups, the fresh sap contains substances that irritate the skin and mucous membranes. Poisonous if eaten for people, dogs, cats and grazing animals such as horses and cattle; livestock usually leave the fresh plant alone. Dried in hay it is harmless. Do not let children chew it.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Full sun
warm and bright
Moisture
Dry
tolerates drought
Hardiness
Fully hardy
down to -30 °C
Size
0.3 m
tall, 0.2 m wide
Flowering
April–June

Key facts
Pruning months	July and September
Height	0.3 m
Native to Belgium	Yes
Flowering	April–June

Identify

How to recognise it

Habit: Perennial of 15–40 cm with a rosette of basal leaves and upright, hairy flower stems.
Leaf: Divided into three deeply cut segments; the middle segment has its own short stalk. Hairy.
Flower: Glossy golden yellow, 2–3 cm across, with five petals, from April to June. The green sepals are folded right back against the furrowed flower stalk.
Fruit/Seed: A small head of flat nutlets, each with a short, hooked beak.
Roots: The stem base is swollen into a bulb about the size of a marble, with fibrous roots below.
Look-alikes: Meadow buttercup is taller, has spreading sepals and a round, unfurrowed flower stalk. Creeping buttercup has spreading sepals and long, rooting runners. Only bulbous buttercup combines folded-back sepals with a bulb.

Flowering: April–June · Pruning: July and September

In your garden

Why grow it?

One of the first buttercups of the year: from April, plenty of pollen and nectar for bees, hoverflies and beetles.
Some wild bees, such as the scissor bee Chelostoma florisomne, collect their pollen almost only from buttercups.
A tough plant for dry, sunny spots where other buttercups do not survive.
It retreats into its bulb in summer and so survives drought without watering.
A cheerful splash of yellow in a flowery meadow or on a sunny bank.

Bulbous buttercup: where does it grow best?

In the wild: dry, thin grassland, dunes, dykes, road verges, sunny slopes and old pastures.
Free-draining, poor soil: sand, loam or chalk, preferably neutral to chalky.
Full sun; in shade it hardly flowers.
In the garden: in a flowery meadow on dry soil, on a sunny bank or in a sandy strip along a path.

Goes well with

Oxeye daisy: White flowers in the same dry, flowery meadow.
Bird’s-foot trefoil: Yellow flowers in summer, while the bulbous buttercup rests.
Salad burnet: Fine leaves and the same liking for dry, chalky soil.
Meadow saxifrage: White spring flowers on the same thin dykes and verges, also with a summer rest.
Yellow rattle: Weakens the grasses, giving the flowers more room.

Maintenance

Bulbous buttercup: when and how to plant it?

Buy plants or seed of native origin from a nursery for wild plants. Never dig up plants from the wild.
Sow in autumn (September–October) in a tray or directly on bare soil. The seed needs the winter cold to germinate.
Cover the seed with a thin layer of sand and keep it moist; it germinates in spring, often unevenly.
Plant pot-grown plants in autumn or early spring, 15–20 cm apart, with the bulb just below the surface.
Do not add compost; just water when planting.

Care

Watering: Not needed: it is built for drought and goes dormant in summer.
Feeding: Never. On fertilised soil it is crowded out by grasses and meadow buttercup.
Mowing: Mow the meadow in July, after the seed has set, and again in September if you like. Remove the cuttings.
Self-seeding: Let the seed ripen before mowing; that way it sows itself every year.
Bare patches: It germinates mainly on small bare patches. After mowing, scratch open the turf here and there.

Tip: Not sure whether you have bulbous buttercup? Look under the flower: if the green sepals are folded down against the stalk, you have the right one.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: July and September.

When: Mow in July, after the seed has set, and again in September.

How:

Cut at 5–8 cm and remove the cuttings after a few days so the seed can drop out.
In a border: cut off the faded stems in July; the leaves then die back by themselves.
Leave a strip uncut as shelter for insects.

Caution: Wear gloves when handling a lot of fresh plants: the sap can irritate the skin.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: Sow outdoors in autumn; it germinates after the winter.
Division: In September–October, when the new leaves appear, carefully split a clump with its bulbs and replant.

Bulbous buttercup: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

After setting seed the leaves die back in summer; the plant then rests in its bulb.
In autumn a new leaf rosette appears and stays green through the winter.
Fully hardy.

Diseases and pests

Crowding out: On rich soil it disappears under tall grasses. Reduce fertility by mowing and removing the cuttings.
Skin irritation: The fresh sap can cause small blisters. Wear gloves when weeding.
Powdery mildew: Sometimes a white mould on the leaves in summer. Harmless; the leaves die back anyway.
Slugs: They sometimes nibble the young rosette in autumn; rarely a problem.

Through the year

March: The rosette grows; the first flower buds.
April: Flowering begins.
May: Full flower; lots of bees and beetles.
June: End of flowering; the seed ripens.
July: Mow after seed set and remove the cuttings. The leaves die back.
August: Summer rest in the bulb.
September: Second mowing. Sow and plant.
October: New leaf rosette. Plant or divide.
November: The rosette overwinters.
December: Resting.

You and this species

Did you know?

The name Ranunculus means ‘little frog’ (Latin rana, frog), because many buttercups grow in wet places where frogs live.
The shine of buttercups comes from a special layer of cells in the petals that reflects light like a small mirror; that is the basis of the children’s game of holding a flower under someone’s chin.
The ‘bulb’ is not a true bulb but a swollen stem base where the plant stores food for its summer rest.

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