Fritillaria 2009

[Paul T]

Lovely pics everyone! 

[Oron Peri]

Wonderful collection Simon, F. montana is a stunner

[Sinchets]

Thanks Oron- it's a shame the name Fritillaria mutabilis has already been taken 

[Hristo]

First year flowering here in Bulgaria;
Fritillaria imperialis 'Ruduke' ( from Janis )

[wolfgang vorig]

some Fritillarias

[Ragged Robin]

What a luscious looking group by you wall - lovely photos Wolfgang - they obviously love your garden

[Sinchets]

At last the main body of Fritillaria acmopetala have started to flower- lucky wasps 

[Armin]

Wunderful pictures from everybody.
Thanks for introducing so many species.

[Ragged Robin]

At the moment my Fritilleria meleagris are planted in a raised bulb bed as every bulb I plant here directly in the ground seems to have trouble multiplying - the hope is that they will migrate down the slope, find where they want to be and mix with the meadow grass. Any other hints or suggestions to encourage propagation would be gratefully received?

[tonyg]

Years ago mine increased by seeding around.  They do like a moist place so perhaps it would be good to 'harvest' the seed and plant it in likely places.  I once saw Fritillaria pyrenaica planted in a garden in NW UK where the prevailing wind scattered all the seed in one direction, resulting in a line of seedlings across the garden!  So if you let nature scatter the seeds they may not go where you want them. 
How deep is the natural soil in the meadow?  Depth is important to many bulbs as they migrate downwards to find a level where the bulbs are 'comfortable'.  Shallow soils dry faster and are less welcoming.

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for your advice, Tony, I will take a soil depth sample from the meadow on the front slope, there is a lot of competition once the grass starts growing I suppose but in the end I would like to use the bulb bed for more unusual Fritilleria and bulbs.  I and am extending the bulb bed in to a scree slope for irises and plants that like to be sun-baked - the earth there is already very hot during the day.

Clearing conifers from the middle of the slope has exposed rocks where I want to create crevice garden - lots of inspiration in postings on the SRGC site for this!

Hope your garden is waking up with the Spring and that your gentians are giving you pleasure. 

[Gerdk]

Here are some frits from today

Fritillaria lusitanica - a lower variant from the Sierra de Cazorla, Spain

and - once again, but I love it - Fritillaria pyrenaica

Gerd

[Sinchets]

Gerd- you bet me to it- the first Fritillaria pyrenaica here in the garden.

[biodiversite]

Wolfgang, there is a mistake : the picture of F. kotschyana is not right.

If not, I would be happy you can confirm me F. pontica ssp. substipelata, hereafter in comparison with the type : what do you think about ?

[Gerry Webster]

Wolfgang, there is a mistake : the picture of F. kotschyana is not right

Some people (including me) would place Wolfgang's plant in F. grandiflora.Others would suggest that grandiflora is a subspecies of F. kotschyana. It seems, at present, that this is a matter of choice.