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FRITILLARIA SPECIES: D - F
Each species has been assigned a Cultivation Group, either A, B, C, or D. To view descriptions of these groups, click on Cultivation Groups or scroll to the bottom of this page where they are repeated.
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Fritillaria dagana A Siberian member of the Liliorhiza subgenus because of its multi-scaled bulbs. The leaves are characteristically arranged in a single whorl with just a single or occasionally two upper leaves.
Cultivation: It has rarely been cultivated in the west but it will need to be kept cool moist all year round in peaty soil. Perhaps the north side of a peat block would be the best place to start. |
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Fritillaria dajinensis One of three very similar species which grow in western China. F dajinensis has a single greeny-yellow flower (brown in F unibracteata and yellow in F przwalskyi). It grows in thickets and meadows at very high altitude in China.
Cultivation Group: D We have no experience of growing it in cultivation. |
Sorry, we have no photo of this species. Could you provide one?
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Fritillaria davidii A unique species which stands alone in its own subgenus. It grows in mossy, leafy soil often as a lithophyte in the high rainfall areas of Szechuan which are affected by the summer monsoon rains.
Cultivation Group: D It can be grown in pots in loose leafy compost kept outside as much as possible and given plenty of water in summer, perhaps a bit drier in winter. Repotting needs to be done in early summer so as to not to damage the roots which emerge in mid summer. Top growth starts with the advent of autumn. |
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Fritillaria davisii This member of the F graeca complex has dark purple-brown flowers without a green fascia and has bright green leaves. It is endemic to the Mani peninsular in grassland.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria delavayi A committed scree dweller which inhabits high altitudes in SW China. It can be recognised by its few short, broad greyish leaves and comparatively large dull green flowers occasionally marked with crimson.
Cultivation Group: D We have little experience of growing it but a good place to start would be a very gritty compost in a deep pot kept as cold as possible in winter. |
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Fritillaria drenovskii Recognised by its long arching flower stem with a singly flower and a single bract leaf. The flower is normally brown with yellow inside. It grows in the northern Greek mountains where it inhabits grassy slopes and clearings in the forest.
Cultivation Group: A or B |
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Fritillaria dzhabavae A newly described species from Georgia which we have not seen. The description leads us to think that it may just be an immature F latifolia.
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Sorry, we have no photo of this species. Could you provide one?
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Fritillaria eastwoodiae This looks like, and probably is, of hybrid origin between F recurva and F micrantha. It is quite variable and can have greeny-yellow, yellow, orange or red flowers. It comes from northern California where it grows in scrub.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria eduardii A striking relative of F imperialis which differs in its long style. A native of Tadjikistan, it largely survives on rock ledges where flower sellers cannot pick it!
Cultivation Group: A or B but its size (1 meter tall) means that it is better planted in a raised bed under cover. |
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Fritillaria ehrhartii Closely related to F bithynica with which it shares the very thin undivided style. The dark brown flowers serve to distinguish it from the yellow or green and brown-striped flowers of the others in the group. Native to Evvia and a few other Aegeian Islands.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria elwesii This can be confused with very similar looking F acmopetala and F latakiensis but its narrow tubular black flowers with a marked green fascia serve to separate it. It is easy to grow.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria enginiana Very like F. sibthorpiana but the flowers are much greener and it has two leaves at the base of the stem and two (or more in large specimens) stem leaves. Endemic to the hills above the Dalaman River in SW Turkey.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria epirotica A lovely little tubby-belled plant from bare serpentine slopes in a few mountains of northern Greece. Its most prominent distinguishing feature is its huge nectary which is about 1/3 the width of the tepal and 2/3 the length.
Cultivation Group: A or B |
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Fritillaria euboeica Endemic to the mountains of the island of Evvia, this is distinguished from the similar F carica by its deeply divided style (slightly or undivided in F carica) and from F conica by its green ovate nectary rather than the brown lanceolate one of the latter.
Cultivation Group: |
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Fritillaria falcata A very local endemic of serpentine screes in California with characteristic upward-facing, bowl-shaped flowers.
Cultivation: It has proven extremely difficult to cultivate. |
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Fritillaria ferganensis One of the scrambling species from Central Asia where it hangs on to the shrubs through which it grows with the long tendril-like leaves which are mainly arranged in whorls.
Cultivation: It has not persisted in cultivation for long but if it becomes more widely available, it is worth trying to grow it as Group B without allowing it to dry out entirely in summer and providing some shading twigs through which it can climb. |
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Fritillaria fleischeriana A very glaucous species from the Anatolian parts of NW Turkey. The very thin, undivided, style serves to distinguish it from its closest relatives which all have stout styles which can divide at the tip.
Cultivation Group: B |
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Fritillaria forbesii Easily recognised by its bright green, narrow, linear leaves and bright yellow flower. It is known only from a very restricted area of southern Turkey near Fethiye where it grows in pine woods at low altitude.
Cultivation Group: A |
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Fritillaria frankiorum A field weed from the border of Syria with Turkey. Note the tall stems, dilated filaments and mucronate tips to the anthers. It is a remarkably constant species with green flowers fading to dull brown.
Cultivation Group: A with plenty of water in the growing season. Being highly vegetative, it tends to divide into many small bulblets rather than flower every year. |
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Fritillaria fusca A poorly known species from very high mountains in Xixang and Tibet. It has just two broad stem leaves and a single flower which is black both inside and out.
Cultivation: It will probably need about 6 months of the year in the refrigerator before being brought out and watered copiously but kept cool. |
Sorry, we have no photo of this species. Could you provide one?
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Cultivation Groups
Group A
Those from a Mediterranean-type climate zone at low to medium altitude. The major precipitation is during the winter and early spring but the summer is dry. The bulbs are dormant in summer but often protected from the heat of direct sunlight by tall herbs, shade of trees or by coastal fog.
It is worth trying these in well-drained soil in the open garden but unless your climate is Mediterranean in character, dryness in the summer will usually need to be contrived by overhead protection or planting amongst established, deciduous, shrub or tree roots. These species tend to be straightforward to grow in pots with summer dryness. In the northern hemisphere, watering is best started sparingly from mid-September, increasing once the shoots appear until dormancy sets in in May.
Group B
Those from high altitude and/or inland sites. The major soil moisture in this case is provided by melting snow in the spring and, although occasional thunder storms may occur, the summers tend to be dry but not so hot. In winter the soil is normally covered in snow so the temperature and soil water content is constant for what can be 5 or 6 months of winter during which little growth occurs.
These are normally more difficult in the open garden but can be grown in gritty compost in pots in a cold greenhouse with watering as above. Some benefit from refrigeration in winter in order to maintain dormancy.
Group C
Semi Desert plants. These are from inland sites with cold dry winters, some snowfall, spring snowmelt, and then very dry summers.
In most countries these are not suitable for outdoor cultivation but they grow well in pots in gritty compost under glass. They are best kept dry until early winter when water can be given sparingly until growth appears in spring.
Group D
Those from areas with summer rainfall and cool/cold dry winters. For example, those species from the Himalayas, SW China and NE China, Japan and SE Siberia. These all grow in fairly cool conditions throughout the year, often under protective shade of shrubs or deciduous trees. Snow and snowmelt are important but so is summer rainfall. The main growing season is through spring but root growth can start during the summer, coinciding with the summer rains.
These seem to do quite well in cooler climates grown either in the open garden or in pots of gritty, humus soil, kept outside with perhaps a little protection from excessive winter rain.
Group A
Those from a Mediterranean-type climate zone at low to medium altitude. The major precipitation is during the winter and early spring but the summer is dry. The bulbs are dormant in summer but often protected from the heat of direct sunlight by tall herbs, shade of trees or by coastal fog.
It is worth trying these in well-drained soil in the open garden but unless your climate is Mediterranean in character, dryness in the summer will usually need to be contrived by overhead protection or planting amongst established, deciduous, shrub or tree roots. These species tend to be straightforward to grow in pots with summer dryness. In the northern hemisphere, watering is best started sparingly from mid-September, increasing once the shoots appear until dormancy sets in in May.
Group B
Those from high altitude and/or inland sites. The major soil moisture in this case is provided by melting snow in the spring and, although occasional thunder storms may occur, the summers tend to be dry but not so hot. In winter the soil is normally covered in snow so the temperature and soil water content is constant for what can be 5 or 6 months of winter during which little growth occurs.
These are normally more difficult in the open garden but can be grown in gritty compost in pots in a cold greenhouse with watering as above. Some benefit from refrigeration in winter in order to maintain dormancy.
Group C
Semi Desert plants. These are from inland sites with cold dry winters, some snowfall, spring snowmelt, and then very dry summers.
In most countries these are not suitable for outdoor cultivation but they grow well in pots in gritty compost under glass. They are best kept dry until early winter when water can be given sparingly until growth appears in spring.
Group D
Those from areas with summer rainfall and cool/cold dry winters. For example, those species from the Himalayas, SW China and NE China, Japan and SE Siberia. These all grow in fairly cool conditions throughout the year, often under protective shade of shrubs or deciduous trees. Snow and snowmelt are important but so is summer rainfall. The main growing season is through spring but root growth can start during the summer, coinciding with the summer rains.
These seem to do quite well in cooler climates grown either in the open garden or in pots of gritty, humus soil, kept outside with perhaps a little protection from excessive winter rain.