Eranthis Species, Winter Aconite, Winter Hellebore, Winter Wolf's Bane

I love these early blooming little flowers, but over time they seem to be disappearing instead of multiplying. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong

This is one of the earliest flowers to bloom - even before crocus and snowdrops. I look forward to the bright yellow little blossoms ever...Read Morey year. They mean Spring is on the way.

These cheerful yellow flowers remind us that the garden will be soon be awake to welcome the new season.
We first saw this very ea...Read Morerly blooming bulb at our local botanic garden - Fernwood, Niles, MI after we finished a Master Gardener Training class back in 1998. There must have been a million of these little, single yellow flowers.
It's the first sign that Winter is leaving. We seen them trying to come up through the snow.They come back each season, we scatter the seeds. In at least two years they bloom.
The unusual foliage dies down by mid-June at the latest. The rabbits and squirrels leave them alone in our area.

Anything that blooms in the wake of receding sheets of ice and snow around here is very much welcome. Following are heavily quoted & par...Read Moreaphrased germination instructions from Norman C. Deno's Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd edition:

The best way to propagate this plant from seed is to direct sow the seed as soon as it is fresh where it is intended to grow, because:

Seed dry stored either at 40*F or 70*F is dead (as is all commercially distributed seed under current practices).

Seed should be stored and/or distributed in moist paper towels either at 40*F or at 70*F, if at all.

Alternative to direct sowing, "...seeds are placed in moist paper towels at 70*F as soon as they are ripe in May. After 3 months at 70*F, the seeds are shifted to to 40*F [and]...after [exactly 55 days from being shifted to 40*F,]...germination begins...[and] is...90% complete in four days."

I love the Winter Aconite. It's pretty and cheerful, and is literally an early flower.

I don't care how invasive this plant becomes. I'm just glad to have anything blooming this time of year. I'm hoping it colonizes my sma...Read Morell patch of lawn.

If it were not for its early blooming season, I would eradicate this from our garden. It is extremely agressive and has spread into larg...Read Moree colonies in just a few years.

I plan to weed out much of it each year after it blooms to reduce seed production in an attempt to control its spread. Seeds appear to germinate readily, increasing the size of the colony.

Foliage is bronze-green when new, turning more green as it matures.

Best in large groups, due to ground-hugging nature of foliage and blossoms.