This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Why don't my Fritillaria imperialis lutea flower?
Heather Harrison
Posts: 5
I love fritillaria imperialis lutea when they are in flower. They are planted on their side, at the correct depth in well drained soil. Only one has decided to flower though. They are under a quince tree alongside veronicastrum lavandulturm, anemone September Charm and pulmonaria Jack Frost. Even the ones I potted up in decent compost aren't flowering either. Any ideas on how I can get them to do their stuff?
0
Posts
Mine are like that. The ones that have flowered this year were planted 3 years. The ones I planted last year are just leaves. Maybe they need settling in time
In the sticks near Peterborough
How long have they been there? I planted two in a pot in autumn 2012 and although they grew lots of greenery we had no flowers in 2013.
I remembered that in a previous garden there had been a long established clump of Fritillaria imperialis which flowered well every spring and all the bulbs were almost up on the surface of the soil - so last autumn I repotted my two bulbs with their noses proud of the compost - this year one of the two bulbs has flowered well.
I don't know whether it didn't flower last year because the bulbs were immature or whether one flowered this year because it was happier with it's nose peeking out of the soil. However, I'll leave them as they are, feeding with FB&B as the flowers fade and hope that both bulbs flower next spring.
Good luck with yours
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Oh .... I am waiting for three frittilaria bulbs at the moment, looks like I need advice as to how best to plant them so that they will flower. Anybody else had success with them?
mine were purchased at Harrogate spring show last year and planted in MPC about 5inches deep in a large pot. They were kept over winter in the greenhouse and flowered at the end of march.
I've spent a fortune on Fritillaria rubra maxima planted them deep, well drained and in the back of a border next to a wall. Then after many years they just started coming up and flowering. I thought I'd lose all my bulbs this year because of the rain but every one came up and is flowering happily go figure
I've been told by a nursery that they prefer sun to semi shade, but I'm not moving them as I've nowhere in full sun that I can plant them deep enough (we're on limestone). Also they said to enrich the soil, so I'll try that and cross my fingers. I also get the feeling that they need a while to get established.
There is a 2 page article all about planting the Fritillaria Imperialis in Amateur Gardening magazine (26 April edition, page 60).
They do point out that they may not grow in the first year. Tells you to plant at 4" deep, with a layer of grit and on their sides to avoid rot caused by water lying in the deep dimple that they tend to have. Unfussy about soil type apparently, just well drained and fertile.