by InspiredWritingResearch

Created on: March 19, 2009

Tips for growing the winter aconite are very simple as this happy-looking golden flower is very easy to plant and needs very little looking after in return for it's cheerful presence. The first tip for brightening your woodland are, is to plant the pretty yellow winter aconites 'in the green' rather than as corms.
Bulbs, or corms, which vary from four to five centimetres around, are usually available from garden centres, nurseries and mail order in the Fall. Be sure to choose establishments that guarantee the bulbs have been commercially grown, and not taken from the wild. Although the winter aconites seem very tiny at first, their golden-cupped flowers are reputed to multiply very fast, so space them about seventy to one hundred per square foot and you will soon have a cheering yellow carpet in the dappled shade of your 'woodland garden.'

Another growing tip is to have them grow closer to the house too, so that they can be enjoyed by those who don't care to venture out in districts where the weather is chilly when these plants appear - February to March. They can be used to lift the color in window boxes for example, or doorstep pots. Their compact height (about three inches) means they won't dominate the tubs. Elderly relatives and friends will appreciate being able to enjoy these cheeky-looking little yellow aconites from inside the house, or being able to admire them in containers and pots while pottering around the yard or porch. In this way their scent can be appreciated too, after the dull grey cheerless days of late winter. The golden yellow of the aconites lifts the spirits by reminding us that the warmer days of Spring are nigh!

For gardeners venturing further afield in the garden, winter aconites can be grown, one inch apart, close to paths too, or try growing them in the lawn, naturalised through the grass at a ratio of seventy to one hundred per square foot. Rock gardens and larger flower beds are suitable planting locations too, for this versatile little bulb.

The best time to plant winter aconites is in the Fall. When planting the bulbs, be sure the temperature is unlikely to drop below five degrees in your region - although fairly hardy, these little bulbs aren't indestructible! Put them in the ground at about five inches depth to the bottom of the tuber. If planting away from the house, the winter aconites may seem very tiny and nondescript at first but persevere, because they reproduce through tubers and seeds, and given a mainly warm to cool growing cycle, they will soon start to cover the ground with nodding yellow-cupped flowers.

Winter aconites prefer a dappled shade location but will tolerate full sun as long as it's not for the whole day - they don't like sun-baked parched spots. The occasional dry spell won't kill them as long as they are watered during their growing season.

These growing tips should ensure a spirit-lifting drift of winter aconites that just gets bigger and better each year!

Helpful Resources:

Thompson And Morgan Mail Order

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