Fritillaria 2019/20 season

[WSGR]

Steve Garvie

Fantastic Fritillarias. Reason I click on the forum. I LOVE the last one! Amazing!

[Tristan_He]

Seconded, you have a stunning collection Steve! Love seeing these.

[Tristan_He]

Fritillaria pyreniaca, typical and yellow forms. This is the first year they have flowered, from seed exchange seed about 4 years ago. I think I may have caught the Frit bug...

[Gerdk]

Some pics of Fritillaria meleagris, the first ones from the Botanic Garden of Wuppertal, the latter ones from my garden
- and also a sign that I am not the only one who loves the flowers 

Gerd

[Karaba]

Two indigenous frits from France

Fritillaria involucrata and Fritillaria pyrenaica

[Janis Ruksans]

Some Fritillaria meleagris selections - the first two from Gotland, Sweden - found by Henrik Zetterlund and the third from Sulev Savisaar, Estonia

[Claire Cockcroft]

Fritillaria pontica, maiden bloom.


Fritillaria gussichiae

[Claire Cockcroft]

Fritillaria crassifolia -- I'm not sure what made the stalk bend the way it has.


Fritillaria affinis, one of several coming into bloom

[ArnoldT]

Fritillaria meleagris Alba

[Steve Garvie]

The last of the American Frits here (the first two were actually in flower at the start of the month):

Fritillaria liliacaea -two different clones in this pot with obvious differences in flower shape. Perhaps the plant on the left is a hybrid as the flowers look like biflora.



Fritillaria biflora ssp. ineziana



Fritillaria affinis



Fritillaria affinis var. tristis



Fritillaria affinis var. lutea



Fritillaria recurva

[Steve Garvie]

The last of the Far-Eastern species in flower here:

Fritillaria pallidiflora -grows well in gritty soil in the open garden (with some shade from wind and strong sun).



Fritillaria hupehensis -a poor image. This plant is not easy in a pot and might be better suited to a sheltered spot in the open garden (perhaps between small shrubs)



Fritillaria meleagroides -this species has a huge range extending from Xinjiang in China westwards to Bulgaria and the Ukraine.



Fritillaria olgae -a rather drab species from the Western Pamir-Alai Mountains which clambers through shrubs and has tendril-like tips to the upper leaves.







Fritillaria taipaiensis -I think this is taipaiensis. Apparently the dark purplish blotches on the outside of the flower can vary from heavy to almost non-existent. Flora of China links to an illustration of this species showing that the inner tepals are broader than the outer tepals which fits with the plant illustrated below. Any thoughts would be most welcome. (The plant was raised from SRGC seed labelled as hupehensis).

[Steve Garvie]

Last of the European Frits in flower here:

Fritillaria tuntasia -some consider it to be a form of obliqua. My bulbs flower almost a month later than my obliqua and have distinctly curly leaves.





Fritillaria minima -A small snowmelt species. The yellow flower develops orange tips when pollinated.





Fritillaria whittallii



Fritillaria ehrhartii



Fritillaria epirotica -a dwarf, dumpy species with curled glaucous foliage and large bells.

[kris]

nice range of Frits Steve. I can grow only F.meleagris , pallidiflora and F.camchatka. 

[Leena]

Very nice plants, Steve. Some are quite dramatic looking, like F.affinis var tristis.
Like kris I have only a few Fritillarias. F.pallidiflora grows well here in open ground in heavy clay, even increases. F.meleagris and F.camschatcensis grow also well, and I'm happy that F.grandiflora has settled and grows well (but hasn't increased yet). It is so big.

[Steve Garvie]

Many thanks Kris and Leena.

Apparently pallidiflora grows wild in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and North-west China (Xinjiang). These areas have a long cold continental winter with snow cover; similar to your conditions. Other species from there include walujewii and verticillata which should grow in your conditions (with good drainage and a gentle drying over the Summer). Both Of these species are available commercially and sometimes as seed. Tortifolia and yuminensis also grow in cold continental conditions in the NW of Xinjiang but are hard to get hold of.

The other group worth trying are some of the Turkish snowmelt species such as alburyana, aurea and minima as well as armena, caucasica and the crassifolia group. These will need some cover over the Summer so that they don’t get too wet in dormancy.

Surprisingly some of the semi-desert species such as bucharica, stenanthera and gibbosa might be worth a try if seed-raised and then introduced as semi-adult bulbs. These would need planted in very well-drained soil. Growth appears after snow-melt as temperatures warm in the Spring. Once the plants became dormant in early Summer they should be lifted and stored dry at room temperature before being replanted in the late Autumn -just before significant frost and snow return.