Guide to growing garden plants - Fritillaria Fritillary

The Fritillaria genus has many members and is grown as a hardy bulb in the garden.

It reaches about 10 to 30cm in height and bears bell shaped flowers of yellow, orange, purple, green or white in the spring.

They make great edging and border plants.

Some common names for Fritillaria include Fritillary, Toad lily, Snake's head Fritillary, Guinea hen flower and Crown Imperial.

How to grow Fritillary (Fritillaria)

Fritillaria can be grown from seed or bulbs. The bulbs should be planted outdoors at the end or summer through to the beginning of Autumn. The Fritillary bulbs should be planted 10cm (small species) to 20cm deep, and hve the tops surrounded by sand.

If you like a challenge then Fritillary seeds can be planted indoors in the spring. The Fritillary seeds should be sown into a flat 9just cover the seeds) then imbibed by putting the flat into a black plastic bin bag and placing in the fridge for three weeks. The flat should then be removed and sunk into the ground in a shady location. As soon as the seedlings appear (germination takes from one to one and a half years!) they should be planted at a spacing of about 10cm 9small species) to 25cm (large species) apart into a sunny or partially shaded part of the garden that has good drainage.

Caring for Fritillary

Fritillary likes to grow in a rich soil. It will take about 5 years until the Fritillary will flower. They should be mulched in the winter. Fritillary will produce bulblets, these may lead to too many plants, and therefore they should be controlled by dividing every five years or so. These Fritillary bulblets can also be used to propagate more plants in the autumn.