FRITILLARIA GRAECA

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:55:34 PST
Sylvia wrote,
>A surprise this week: after nearly 10 years in a very small pot, one 
>of three originally planted bulbs of F. graeca is putting up a bloom 
>stalk.  I bought and planted these bulbs from McClure & Zimmerman in 
>October 2005 at a time when they offered a surprisingly diverse 
>selection of this genus.

The name Fritillaria graeca has undergone some changes in recent 
years. I don't know what present name the material supplied by this 
retailer now goes under. However, it is hard to tell this group 
apart, especially without a monograph available. One name that came 
out of the group is Fritillaria mutabilis, which I grew from seed 
from the AGS Fritillaria Group. They proved to be very handsome 
plants, quite large. I think I have the real Fritillaria graeca too, 
from seeds acquired many years ago.

It shouldn't take nine years for this plant to flower from purchased 
bulbs; two years at the most, I would think. Are you repotting them 
at least every two years, and providing some fertilizer (such as a 
"root and bloom" formula at half strength)? Are the bulbs at least 4 
inches below the soil surface? I would expect bulbs of this group to 
flower in about four years from seed sowing.

If Sylvia doesn't need to grow her bulbs in pots, they might do fine 
in the ground in her area (northern California). However, deer could 
eat them. And would!

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA





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