THE SMALLER FRITILLARIAS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21010, 26 April 1930, Page 7

THE SMALLER FRITILLARIAS.

For seme inexplicable reason, Fritillarias, with one or two exceptions, have never “ caught on ” outside the gardens of the specialists, yet many of their species are beautifully coloured, all are exquisitely formed, and quite a number are exceedingly quaint. Their cultivation is not difficult, but a few essential points call for consideration. They should be planted when in a dormant state early in the autumn, and in a well-drained, sandy soil. They are, for the most part, meadow plants, or plants from the foothills, and will appreciate a little shelter from cutting wind, sharp spring frosts, and too fierce sunlight. This is forthcoming hy associating them with dwarf plants, lowgrowing shrubs, by planting them in thin woodland or in grassland, or, in the case of very choice species, by finding for them sheltered nooks on the apiino garden. They are nst longlived plants, and, happily, many are reproduced self-sown seedlings. Seeds of the choicer species should bo sown.

and plants raised in this country are more satisfactory than are imported ■ bulbs. Fritillarias are numerous,- so I append merely a selection of well-tried and easy-going varieties, headed by that old favourite F. pyrenaica, a plant in cultivation prior to 1605, and one strikingly quaint and richly endowed with beauty—many Fritillarias call for careful examination before their wondrous colouring may be fully appreciated, and a realisation of their beauty is an acquired taste. F. aurea is a real gem, its golden bells tessellated with brown, and F. pudica is a flower of charming port, clothed in undiluted rich yellow. Another brilliant blossom is F. recurva, with orangered flowers, the interior red and yellow, but is one of the few Fritillarias to prove somewhat difficult. The goodtempered F. latifolia is a beautiful plant for everyone and is extremely variable. It appears in ninny guises, in varying shades of black, purple, lilac, pink, yellow, brown, and green, sometimes indescribably blended. Many named forms have been recorded, but a mixture will produce all that is' re» quired, F. acmopetala, F. obliqua, F, Thunbergiana, F. pallidoflora (a somewhat large-growing species), and our own F. Meleagris, to name but a few, also always lire me with enthusiasm. Almost without exception they are fine pot plants for a cold greenhouse.— Kalph E. Arnold in “Gardening Illustrated.”