Adonis: a slow, beautiful affair

What else better for a January gloomy day than the last April’s bright Adonis ramosa flowers? Interested to know more about early flowering perennial Adonis species? I organized my material worth a few years and will share my adventures on growing a couple of them from seeds.

Not everyone may be familiar with these wonderful early spring harbingers; most early spring flowering Adonis species are native from Europe to Far Eastern regions and Japan, and only occasional they end up in our Canadian gardens. The most cultivated species are Adonis vernalis, Adonis amurensis and Adonis ramosa. They are all very cold hardy and grow from a rhizome, being long lived plants.

The flower buds start pushing through the ground as soon as the snow melts and the sun starts shining stronger in early spring when nothing else attempts to flower, except the snowdrops. The large, bright yellow flowers are delightful, both for us and the first early spring pollinators. Beautiful ferny-like foliage in various degrees develops soon and it will grow until early summer; afterwards the plants will enter dormancy.

Usually these species are not available for us mortal ;) gardeners in Canada. When and if it happens, be prepared to spend a considerable amount. There is an explanation for this.

Being more familiar with  Adonis vernalis and knowing it would be more adaptable to our dry summers, years ago I embarked on finding seeds of this species for sowing. I managed to acquire a few dry Adonis vernalis seeds twice. They were just a few months old, but unfortunately they didn’t germinate although I kept the pots for 3 years, allowing multiple cycles of warm/cold.

Like in many other members of Ranunculaceae family, Adonis seeds* are hydrophilic and fresh seeds are required for successful germination. This is something very hard to find mostly because the seeds are dispersed while still green and are hard to catch (similar with Hepatica; see explanations in the last gallery below).

More than this, similar again to Hepatica and other Ranunculaceae, the green seeds have an underdeveloped embryo at the time of dispersal. So, the seeds exhibit morpho-physiological dormancy and they need an after-ripening period to form cotyledon stage embryos.
*The seeds are actually achenes (just like those of Hepatica), so more correctly should be called fruits, but for the sake of easiness I’ll go with the term seeds.

 

Then, a few years ago a friend sent me fresh seeds of Adonis amurensis :) “Fresh” meaning 2-3 weeks old. I sowed them right away and the germination was fantastic in the spring of 2019.

In the first season the seedlings grow only with cotyledon leaves (a trait common for many rhizomatous species), then they go dormant in the summer and restart to grow next spring; again a short growing season…and so on… For this reason, the bulking up of the rhizome is a slow affair with Adonis. The seedlings need to be grown in the same pot for 2-3 years before being planted in the ground (when dormant).

In 2021, I kept a few seedlings in a pot, and a couple were planted in the ground. I lost a few to the drought of 2021/2022. Fast forward to spring of 2023, a few young plants were alive and growing but none flowered; maybe this spring?!
So, you do the math….and here’s the explanation for the rarity in cultivation and the price.

I was also lucky to also receive a division of Adonis ramosa from another gardening friend in the fall of 2020. Planted dormant in the fall, it promptly showed up next spring with two flowers, and they even formed a few seeds (which I promptly sown).
Last April, we had an uneventful spring, so the flowering was exquisite and also nice seeds were formed. Of course, I sowed them again for myself and also shared a few of them to spread the joy. Notice the seeds aspect and the catching method with organza bags, the same used for Hepatica.

Conclusions for growing Adonis amurensis and A. ramosa from seeds, from my personal experience:

Sow only fresh seeds! (meaning only a few weeks old) in pots or directly in the ground.
Allow the natural variations in temperature (summer/fall/winter; the seeds may not germinate in the first spring if the embryos do not develop well or if the cold period in winter is insufficient! so do not cuddle them in a greenhouse).
Grow the seedlings in the same pot for 2-3 years (no pricking); water well and use a light fertilizer when in growth to maximize their growing season.
Transplant only when dormant (late summer-fall) in a well-drained but with moisture retentive substrate, in a sunny to part-shade location. If your region has hot, dry summers, a location with afternoon shade is a must.
Be patient, eventually the seedlings will flower after 4+ years. Meanwhile, grow many other companion plants for them!

Once again, my gratitude to all who are sharing with me their precious seeds and treasured plants divisions!