Fritillaria imperialis
Jane McGary (Mon, 27 Mar 2017 16:25:01 PDT)
I have had success sowing seed of Fritillaria imperialis in autumn,
after dry storage at room temperature after harvesting it. However,
perhaps Uli's "particularly large" form is a triploid. Triploid
Fritillaria are known, for example in populations of Fritillaria affinis
in the region around San Francisco Bay. They have unusually large
flowers and are sterile. Fertile seeds will have a visible embryo,
though in F. imperialis the seeds are quite thick and it may be harder
to see the embryo. In addition, Fritillaria seem to be self-sterile, so
if Uli is self-pollinating his special plant, fertile seeds will not
form. Another problem with getting fertile seed of this species may be
flowering during a time when temperatures are too cold for effective
fertilization.
I grew my F. imperialis plants from seed of yellow-flowered plants, but
so far all of mine have typical orange flowers, which must be dominant
and reflect the pollen parents.
Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA
On 3/27/2017 1:42 PM, Johannes Ulrich Urban wrote:
Dear All,
Having sown seed of a particularly large form of F. imperialis
several times without success I wonder how your experience is with
this plant. I have tried several different ways: sowing fresh seed
immediately after ripening, sowing dried seed in autumn, keeping the
seedpot either in the garden or greenhouse during winter. The mother
bulb is about to flower but again not a single seed has germinated. I
opened some fresh seeds before sowing, they were all thick, fleshy
and white inside, not empty shells.
Where is my mistake? Is it perhaps a sterile clone? Do they need a
special treatment to break a prolonged dormancy? The seeds now feel
empty and dead to the touch.
Any advice is appreciated.