Fritillaria eduardii (was Re: FRITILLARIA IMPERIALIS)
Ellen Hornig (Wed, 07 May 2008 14:01:46 PDT)

This must be another instance of my magic conditions allowing me to succeed
where I should fail, but I've had Frit. eduardii in the garden for may years
now - probably 8-10 or so - and it's done splendidly well, blooming
beautifully and, this year, even setting seed (we had a warm spell when it
bloomed, and consequently bee activity). I actually have two groupings of
it, one at the top of a slope, the other part way down on a different slope.
Late frosts/freezes are always a threat - this year they spent two nights
enveloped in Remay - but the worst an unprotected freeze has ever done is
disfigure the plants and flowers (which is why I now cover). I haven't
lifted, split, or otherwise molested them in all these years, nor have I
fertilized. My soil is generally a clayey loam, perhaps slightly acidic (it
varies).

As more people have heard than want to by now, the distinguishing feature of
my climate here is excellent winter snow cover (totaling 10-12 feet per
season). Oswego is fairly far north in the US: latitude is 43°28'N
(longitude 076°30'W ).

On a different topic, I've grown Alstroemeria presliana ssp. australis here
for many years as well (probably 12) - it does beautifully in the open
garden (no south wall), and it isn't invasive like A. aurea, which I keep
trapped between the south-facing foundation of the house and the adjacent
driveway. When I got seeds of that one from a garden at Cornell U, long
ago, the gardener said "sure, you can have some, but you'll be sorry!" And
to some extent he was right. But it's hard not to love them when they
bloom.

Ellen

Ellen Hornig
Seneca Hill Perennials
3712 County Route 57
Oswego NY 13126 USA
http://www.senecahillperennials.com/