Growing Fritillarias From Seed

Table of Contents and IntroductionAfrican Violets: the Doyen of House PlantsAgapanthusAlstroemeriasAmerican SagebrushesAmerican WildflowersAndean Nymph - a pink mimulusAquilegias (Columbines)AuriculasAustralian AnnualsBellis Perennis (Daisies)Black-Eyed SusanBlue African LiliesBreeding DelphiniumsBreeding Fuchsias: Part 1: From SeedBreeding Fuchsias: Part 2: HybridisationBromeliads from SeedButterflies in Soy SauceCacti RaisingCampanulasChilean Bell FlowerChilly Treatment for Peruvian LiliesCollecting SeedConserving Annuals and BiennialsCosmosCucumbersCycads: Living FossilsCyclamen for IndoorsDahlias from SeedDamping OffErythroniumsF1 Hybrid - What Is it?F2 and Open Pollinated VarietiesFrom Obscurity to the Height of FashionGentiansGeraniumsGermination to Pricking OutGolden Impatiens - The StoryGrowing Alpines From Seed: Part 1Growing Alpines From Seed: Part 2Growing Bananas From SeedGrowing Cyclamen From SeedGrowing Eucalyptus From SeedGrowing Ferns from SporesGrowing Foxgloves From SeedGrowing Fritillarias From SeedGrowing From Seed: From Packet to SoilGrowing Hardy Ferns from SporesGrowing Hardy Geraniums From SeedGrowing Lewisias From SeedGrowing Magnolias From SeedGrowing Meconopsis From SeedGrowing Proteas and Related Genera from SeedHandling Small SeedsHardy Annuals: Part 1Hardy Annuals: Part 2Hardy CyclamenHardy SpurgesHelleboresIncreasing your Violas and ViolettasKeeping Records of Seed SowingLettuce - the Vital Part of any SaladLord Anson's PeaMagnolias - the Root of the ProblemMimulus from Seed to Seed in Sixty DaysNew Guinea ImpatiensOld-fashioned Sweet PeasOnions with EverythingPansies are not Difficult to Grow from SeedParsleyPerennials for American GardensPetuniasPhygelius - their cultivation and propagationPinks: Evocation of the PastPlants That Flower OncePrickly but NicePropagatorsRadishesRaising PalmsRaising PrimulasSalad Leaves - a lot to be desiredShow Stoppers Twice OverSowing SeedsSowing in Open GroundSowing to Feed our FriendsSturt's Desert PeaSweet Peas - Autumn SownSweet Peas - Sowing and GerminatingTall and HandsomeTechniques with Tiny SeedTexas BluebellThe Effect of Light on Germination and SeedlingsThe Nervous PeaThe Scarlet Welsh PoppyThe Search for the Yellow Sweet PeaToad LiliesTomatoesTreasure Hunt for TasteUnderstanding Latin NamesUnique Poppy (Mother of Pearl)Viability of VegetablesWeaning SeedlingsWill the Real Mimosa Please Stand Up

Fritillarias are amongst the most collectable of bulbs and not difficult to raise from seed. Jack Elliott recommends some to try and explains how to go about it.

Many gardeners are reluctant to try growing bulbs from seed, because of the long wait between sowing and flowering, generally between two and five years. However, this is no longer than for many of the more exciting perennials and shrubs and with increasing numbers of seed pans sown every year, there will be a succession of new plants flowering and the intervening period will be forgotten.

Fritillaria species are ideal subjects for growing from seed, as the mature bulbs are expensive and not always readily available, and a reasonable stock will be built up of healthy and vigorous bulbs. They should also be true to name as hybridisation is unusual in this genus.

Fritillarias seem to be enjoying a tremendous vogue at present, displaying a remarkable variety from 2 inches (5cm) high miniatures to 3 feet (91cm) crown imperials. Their bell-shaped flowers come in any colour from green, through white, yellow, pink and red, to deepest chocolate-brown, often with chequering of a darker colour. The majority are easily grown in the open garden, but a few will challenge the expert even under glass.

Availability

Two or three seedsmen offer an interesting selection of species, and further fruitful sources are the seed lists of the specialist societies, such as the Alpine Garden Society, Scottish Rock Garden Club and the American Rock Garden Society. Shares in seed collecting expeditions are occasionally offered, especially to members of these societies. Last but not least, anyone building up a collection of species will find that there are opportunities for exchange with other enthusiasts.

Seed sowing

The ideal time for sowing is in early autumn, late September or October in the UK, but if seed is not available until later it should be sown immediately. If the seed can be sown before early winter, December in the UK, it will usually germinate freely in the spring, whereas if sown later, a few plants may appear within a few months but the majority will wait until a year later.

John Innes Seed Compost or a soil-less seed compost can be used, but in either case it is advisable to add up to a third of its bulk of coarse sand or perlite to improve the drainage. A suitable homemade compost is of two parts sterilised loam, one part peat and one and a half parts coarse sand or seed-grade perlite, with 2oz of superphosphate and 2oz lime to 8 gallons of compost. Although clay or plastic pots can be used, the latter has the advantage that less frequent watering will be needed. On the other hand, special care must be taken to provide enough drainage material in the compost to prevent waterlogging.

The pots should be filled to within ¾ inch (2cm) of the rim and the compost firmed. The seed should be sown fairly thinly, about 1/3 inch (8mm) apart, and then covered, first with a light sprinkling of compost just sufficient to hide the seed completely, and finally a good ¼ inch (6mm) of chippings or grit, which can be granite, flint or limestone. It is sometimes said that germination is improved by planting the seeds on their sides, but there is no evidence for this, although it may ensure careful spacing of the seed! The covering of chippings is important because after sowing, the seed pan should be kept outside in a shady place, open to all the weather, including heavy rain, which might otherwise disturb the seed.

Once the seed germinates the pans can be moved into a frame or cold greenhouse, or if these are not available, into more light in the open. The ungerminated pans must be kept watered at all times, even in those species which would normally be given a drying-off period in the summer. The pans of seedlings should be kept growing for as long as possible and can be given a dilute liquid feed once a fortnight, although this is not essential. The seedlings will eventually show signs of going dormant, the leaves turning brown, and at this time water should be withheld, except in the very few woodland species known to resent a drying-off period.

Once the seedlings have died down the pans can be kept under the staging until autumn. This gives better results than putting them on a greenhouse shelf where they may be dried out excessively. Watering should start again in autumn, late September in the UK, and the pans then kept moist during the winter.

Unless the seedlings look exceptionally vigorous or overcrowded by the end of their first season, it is advisable to keep them in their original pans for a further year, as the one year-old bulblets can be extremely small and easily over-looked in the compost, especially as they may be found at any level in the pot! Occasional feeding is helpful during the second year of growth.

Re-potting

After two years' growth, while the bulbs are dormant, they should be re-potted. The ideal time for this is in early autumn as the compost will probably be moist and growth will soon begin. For this potting and for any subsequent potting if the mature bulbs are to be kept in pots, a John Innes No. 2 compost or one of similar composition is ideal, with addition of one third of its bulk of extra grit. Well-drained, soil-less composts seem to give reasonable results, but most growers favour one with a good proportion of loam.

The young bulbs should be potted at about one third of the way up the pot, with at least their own width between bulbs. They should then be kept moist in a sunny position, with some protection from the heaviest winter rain, until they again become dormant after a year's growth. After three growing seasons some of the bulbs should be at or near flowering size and can then be planted in permanent positions in the garden or in pots.

In the garden

Most species enjoy a sunny position in well-drained soil, a rock garden or raised bed being ideal as they like the same conditions as alpine plants. The more robust species will be happy between shrubs or in the front of a mixed border, especially if extra grit is incorporated in the soil. Fritillaria meleagris will grow well in grass if it is not cut until the leaves have died down, but F. pyrenaica is probably the only other species sufficiently vigorous.

For sunny positions in the garden some of the easiest species are Fritillaria pyrenaica, which usually has chocolate-brown flowers, F. persica with tall spires of small deep purple bells and F. acmopetala with slender leaves and large green and brown bells. A little less tall are F. involucrata, F. graeca ssp. F. thessala and F. pontica, all with greenish flowers flushed or chequered with brown to a greater or lesser extent. F. ruthenica has deep brown flowers and F. messanensis and F. gracilis have paler reddish-brown flowers, and these will do equally well in sun or partial shade. F. michaelovskii is an excellent smaller species with flowers which are dark brown above and bright yellow beneath.

For a more shady position with plenty of added humus, Fritillaria pallidiflora is a very easily-raised plant, with broad, very glaucous leaves and exceptionally large pale cream flowers. One of the easiest American species for similar conditions is F. lanceolata, up to 18 inches (45cm) high with whorls of narrow glaucous leaves and several small brown flowers with recurving petals. The two Himalayan species F. cirrhosa with green flowers sometimes heavily chequered with brown, and F. roylei with very large pale cream flowers, seem to thrive best in peat-bed conditions and must never be allowed to dry out.

Most of the species mentioned are easily grown in pots, but several others sometimes available seem to be more dependent on a summer dry period. They include the yellow F. aurea with very large flowers on short stems, and the smaller flowered yellow American species F. pudica. The reddish-brown F. tubiformis from the European Alps, and its Turkish counterpart F. latifolia need similar conditions, as do other species from Turkey and surrounding countries, which may occasionally be offered, for instance the various forms of F. crassifolia and F. hermonis, F. bithynica, F. carica, F. olivieri and many others.