New frits

Aren't these Fritillaria nigra dramatic? I wouldn't know. For the second year in a row the rabbits got to them before they ever had a chance to bloom. As soon as that happened I put wire cages around two groups of Fritillaries that were making an appearance in the garden this month.

I planted Fritillaria pallidiflora last fall for the first time. They feature large pale yellow bells, dangling from foot-tall stems above ribbed gray-green leaves. Odyssey Bulbs, where I got them, says they "provide one of the highlights of the April shade garden" and I have to agree. Supposedly they also self-sow which will be a lovely bonus and they're hardy to Zone 3 — another bonus. 

The number of flowers per stem ranged from one to four. They have marvelous pointed corners and a softly checkered interior which you can just glimpse on the exterior of the petals.

I planted Fritillaria thunbergii in the fall of 2015 but it did not make an appearance until this spring. It turns out to be well-worth waiting for with ivory-green checkered flowers that nod from 18-inch tall whorled-leaved stems. Odyssey Bulbs says this is one of the best Frits for naturalizing and I believe it looking at the clump that's come up. Zone 5.

These two Fritillaries are both lovely but their color is so similar that I think I may try to move them further away from each other or perhaps just add something else to provide a bit of contrast. Can't wait until they start to colonize. That would be a definite thrill!

Comments

[Peter/Outlaw]

Very dramatic color indeed. If it's any consolation, I'm sure the bunnies enjoyed it very much.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

Beautiful fritts. I love the dramatic dark one. The yellows are pretty too. My fritts did colonize some. I bet yours will too. They do it pretty fast too in my experience.

[Susie]

These are gorgeous. Hope they form a happy colony.

[Frank]

Nice! I'm also playing around with a few fritts but not having nearly as much luck. Only F. meleagris seems to have found a spot it likes. I do have a pallidiflora seedling though, it's at least an inch tall :)