Last fall I planted some Fritillaria meleagris (Checkered Lily or Guinea Hen Flower) bulbs.
These deer and rodent-resistant bulbs sport bell-shaped flowers with a funny little checkered pattern on them.
The plants will grow in full to partial sunlight. Unfortunately I wasn’t prepared for the foliage. It’s rather sparse and weedy-looking—almost like a tuft of crabgrass but with an scallion-type texture to it. While one of my bulb clumps is blooming, I can’t find the others. I’m pretty sure it’s because I yanked out the plants’ foliage thinking I was “weeding.”
In a world of fancy spring flowers, fritillaria are the quirky, bow-tie-wearing bulbs of the bunch. They grow 8 to 12 inches tall and are hardy in Zones 3-8.
Just don’t weed them before they have a chance to strut their stuff.
4 comments
I’ve never seen such cute, unusual-looking flowers before, Em. Where did you get these? And are they bulbs? I may try growing them next year (planting this fall, I assume). Love those daffodils also. They’re beautiful.
Hi LT! Yes, they are bulbs. I got them from John Scheepers. I assume they’ll be back in stock later this summer for fall planting:
http://www.johnscheepers.com/flower-bulbs-index/fritillaria/fritillaria-meleagris.html
I have a Fritillaria Imperialis! Didn’t bloom last Spring even though it emerged, it seemed to have been hit by a heavy frost. Up again this year. Hoping it will bloom. James
Well since you didn’t “weed” yours like I did you’re way ahead of me! 🙂
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