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Cottage Gardens

Crown Imperial Fritillaria - does anyone grow this old CG flower?

15 years ago

I have read how these were once the pride of old cottage gardens. They used to come in many colors and patterns. Now they are mostly orange, red and yellow. Is this still the case, or have new colors been reintroduced?

I would love to grow them in my CG.

Do any of you grow them?

I cannot recall seeing them posted on here - just mentioned.

If you grow them, please post pictures of yours.

Thanks so much.

~Annie

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Comments (5)

aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
15 years ago
Annie Crown Imperials make quite a statement in the garden in more ways than one, quite impressive to look at but their perfume, if you can call it that is le pew, the closest I can match it to is rotten socks. This is why I don't grow them. Definitely one to be admired from a distance and definitely not used as a cut flower, supposed to repel rodents though, so that's a plus :o).

Annette
gottagarden
15 years ago
I have a couple oranges. They were supposed to be red and yellow, but they're both orange. Impressive yes. And as Annette mentions, the smell is enough to ensure that deer, rabbits and voles all leave it alone. Too bad it doesn't seem to multiply.
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greylady_gardener
15 years ago
I grew an orange one several (maybe 20) years ago. I only got one to try it as they were about $8. per bulb. It disappeared after the first year. I never did figure out what happened to it. It was supposed to be smelly enough that squirrels would leave it alone so I didn't think they would touch it, but something happened! :)
It sure got a lot of comments about how impressive it was though. I liked it and was sad to lose it.
Nancy
15 years ago
Apparently they have to have EXCELLENT drainage. I consider my soil to have good drainage, don't have much problem losing plants because of it. I've planted the bulbs several times. One time 1 out of 3 bulbs came up the following spring, but no bloom. It faded pretty quickly & nothing the next year. Last fall I planted another, added some gravel to the soil where I planted it. I put it in the best place I had I thought, planted it on its side like some sources say. It started to come up but then rotted. We've had a lot of rain this spring, but most of the rain came after it rotted. I give up on this plant.
Mickie Marquis
15 years ago
I love Fritillaries. I grow the CI orange, yellow and I have a variegated one now. When people visit the garden in late April and see them, they say they remind them of Thing One and Thing Two.
I planted them many times with no real success. When I found the variegated ones (VERY expensive and hard to find), we decided we best learn a little more about them before we spent so much.
I learned they can be planted at an angle (about 45 degrees). This will keep the water from sitting on the underground crown. I also planted them within the drip line of a large birdbath. We bought several of the variegated type about 4 years ago. They are still strong, we lost a couple but the rest have increased. We will divide them this year.
Yes, they smell bad, but hey, its Thing One and Thing Two! And did I mention they are variegated?!

Mickie

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