Fritillaria recurva |
Native Region: Pacific North West
Zone Range: 6-9
Preferred Climate: Sheltered shady sites; well draining average soil
Harvest Date: Thursday 09 October, 2008
Seed count: 12-15
Description:
Vivid scarlet bells suspend from thin stems above a whorl of narrow grey-green foliage. When tilting the nodding blooms upward, one can see the gold checkering within. This is one of the most distinct Fritillarias and a rare jewel. Reaches 60 cm tall. This hummingbird magnet blooms in April and enters dormancy around July. Will naturalize in the right spots in any garden bed of humus rich well draining soil. Co-evolved with our climate of wet winters and dry summers and will not survive/thrive if grown any other conditions. Full sun makes plants enter dormancy early and bulbs will be small and not be as winter hardy as semi sun to shade grown plants.
Notes:
Avoid using sharp edged grit as this can abrade the rice like structure of the bulbs. Beautiful photos can be found at: http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_flora_sci&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Fritillaria+recurva&title_tag=Fritillaria+recurva
Cultivation:
Soak seed 24 hours. Barely cover seed; press into medium Top dress with a little grit or sand to prevent the thin wing like seeds from flying way or dislodged by rain. Keep moist and cool. Germination may be erratic if sown from dry stored seed (think 18 months or more) but if kept in moist peat, it will germinate in the fridge by March...then they're all mine! Seedlings look like single blades of grass so don't be tempted to weed the pot until you know what you are really looking at!
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