How To Replicate Carlsbad's Famous Flower Field In Your Own Garden

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Every spring, the fields at Carlsbad Ranch in Southern California become a rainbow of colorful flowers, attracting visitors from around the world. While these fields owe some of their "wow" factor to size, as they cover 55 acres, this isn't their only appeal. Even up close, where the scale of the fields is less obvious, they're still stunning thanks to the beauty of the flowers being grown: giant Tecolote ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus 'Tecolote' cultivars). These flowers are also the key to making your own miniature flower field in your yard.

Sometimes called Persian buttercups, ranunculus are cool season favorites, with rose-like blooms that have made them a hit of gardeners and florists who appreciate the beautiful plants for their vibrant spring color. With a shade range that includes everything from whites and creams to bold yellows, reds, and purples, it's not difficult to see the ranunculus's appeal. Even better, the flowers have a long vase life, making them equally fun to enjoy in arrangements.

Ranunculi grow from corms, which are similar to bulbs. The best time to plant ranunculus corms for your flower field depends on where you live. They are generally planted in early spring in USDA zones under 8 and in autumn in zones 8 and higher. The corms are generally soaked in water for a few hours before planting the ranunculus. The corms should then be planted into fertile and well-draining soil. Make sure the spot you choose for your mini-flower field also receives full sun. Water your ranunculus patch regularly, and within about 90 days, you should start seeing blooms. 

Regularly deadheading spent blooms and cutting flowers for floral displays will encourage the plants to flower even more. Unfortunately, once temperatures begin to reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit and above, your ranunculus plants will be done for the year and will begin to die back to their corms. As they're hardy in zones 8 and higher, you can just leave them in the ground in these areas to enjoy again next year. Gardeners in lower USDA zones will have to dig up their corms and store them through winter to replant each spring if they want a ranunculus flower field every year.

While just planting a garden full of ranunculi is beautiful, if you want to duplicate the look of The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California, you'll have to put some thought into the varieties of ranunculus to grow and how to arrange them in your garden. The ranunculus in the Carlsbad fields are from the giant Tecolote series, which is known for its wide range of colors and spectacular blooms. Happily, they are widely available to purchase from many garden stores that carry bulbs. In fact, Amazon even sells a "Flower Fields Collection" of Tecolote ranunculus from Easy To Grow.

While you can find bags of mixed colors, to recreate a miniature version of the flower fields in one season, you'll need to buy each color separately, as there's no way to tell which corm will grow which color blooms otherwise. Then, when you're ready to plant your corms, create lines or patches of each shade, so when they begin blooming you'll end up with a rainbow effect similar to that in the flower fields. Of course, it's not just ranunculus you can do this with; you can also recreate the stunning tulip fields of the Netherlands by arranging your tulip bulbs in patches of like colors.