A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies
By Bill Prescott, Published on Feb 15th, 2023.
Sun Valley’s Butterfly Ranunculus season is starting right on time. These unicorns of the flower world bring a rare combination of artistically shaped blooms, stunning color, and beefy girth. Yes, Butterflies are technically a ranunculus, but really, they are very different than what most people think of when they think “ranunculus.”
This is why we just call them “Butterflies”. AND! Did you know, a group of Butterflies (the insect!) is called a kaleidoscope?
Butterflies embody the wildflower, botanical look. They offer many wispy green stems per bunch, and each stem boasts seven to twelve green bulbous heads on the tips. The blooms pop open sequentially, with a thick layer of colorful ruffles. Over days, the blooms continue to expand, until the blossom is wide open. With a great vase life per bloom, you get a big, flashy show of color.
One unique characteristic of Butterflies is that as the blooms mature, they get a really cool waxy coating, which make the blooms shimmer. This quality is reminiscent of a butterfly’s wing, hence the name. This unique trait adds to their charm and increases their vase life.
The foliage is rich, green, and textured, again really highlighting that botanical look. Butterflies could almost be an heirloom variety, something your great grandmother may have grown in her yard, but really, it is a newer variety to the flower world, pioneered in Japan about ten years ago.
The stems have serious bulk, making Butterflies perfect to use in a bouquet or consumer bunch. As an example, yellow Butterflies paired with blue Telstar iris look amazing. The colors complement each other perfectly and the leaves and unruly stems of the Butterflies add an element of visual richness to that of the slim iris.
Sun Valley is the main commercial grower of Butterflies in the United States, growing it in both our northern California location, as well as in southern California fields. So as the weather changes, we can offer the highest quality blooms to your customers.
Spring is knocking on the door and a kaleidoscope of Butterflies is here to greet you!