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FRITILLARIA SPECIES: O - P
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.
Fritillaria obliqua ssp. obliqua This was one of the earliest species to be cultivated in Europe as it was common near Athens. Sadly, now the habitat has largely been developed and it only hangs on in a few fragmented places. It inhabits north-facing limestone rocky slopes and ridges.
CultivationGroup: A. |
Fritillaria obliqua ssp. tuntasia The differences between this and the type subspecies are not at all consistent and are really only the tendency for this island form to be a bit taller, more and narrower leaves and a less divided style (1-2mm branches as opposed to 2-4mm in subsp obliqua). There is however considerable overlap.
Cultivation Group: A It is quite easy to cultivate. |
Fritillaria olgae One of the Central Asian species (western Pamir Alai mountains of Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan) which grows in shrubs through which it climbs by virtue of its tendril-like leaves. It can grow to more than a meter tall so that is green and cream, untessellated flowers are presented in an opening in the host foliage. It grows on very steep stony slopes with a layer of leafmould covering the bulbs.
Cultivation Group: B but with some moisture in summer. Cultivation has proven difficult without a long dry cold winter. It seems to have a double dormancy where root growth takes place in late summer and then nothing happens until warmer spring days when the shoot grows rapidly and flowers in early summer. In NW Europe with mild and inconsistent winters, it grows rather early in poor light and gets set back by fluctuating temperatures. Growers in a more continental climate have more success. |
Fritillaria olivieri Quite a tall growing species with greenish flowers lightly tesselated in brown. It is closely related to F kotschyana which has rather broader leaves and more heavily tesselated flowers but they differ markedly in their ecology in that F olivieri resides in seasonally wet soils by the side of streams whereas F kotschyana grows in drier rocky ground.
Cultivation Group: B with plenty of moisture in spring.Easy to grow. |
Fritillaria oranensis This name is used for all the Fritillaria species which grow in N Africa. The flowers are brown, with or without a fascia and a variable number of bract leaves. The nectaries are always ovate-lanceolate and stretch for ¼ - 1/3 the length of the limb. The nectaries in the very similar F lusitanica are longer than this (0.4 – 0.65x the limb). Plants from the High Atlas tend to have rather broader leaves than those found in the Rif mountains and in Algeria and Tunisia.
Cultivation Group: A or B but has not proven very easy. |
Fritillaria orientalis This is a plant of rock ledges and cliffs in the northern Caucasus where it extends its huge dangling flowers out away from the cliff face. This leaning habit is retained in cultivation.
Cultivation Group: B kept slightly damp in summer. Some fabulous pots of this can be produced in this way. |
Fritillaria pallidiflora This lovely Central Asian plant is easily recognised from its broad overlapping bluish leaves and large greeny-yellow flower occasionally speckled with red.
Cultivation Group: B.This has proven to be quite a reliable garden plant and can be grown in a raised bed amongst the roots of deciduous shrubs with some protection from excessive wind and rain. |
Fritillaria pelinaea The very distinctive broad, fleshy, amplexicaul (wrapped around the stem at their base) leaves and a slender smooth undivided style are the distinguishing characters for this rare plant. It is confined to just one mountain on the island of Chios where in inhabits rocky slopes under Acer and Pinus trees.
Cultivation: We have little experience of this in cultivation but would start with Group A conditions. |
Fritillaria pinardii This tiny species has become something of a taxonomic “dumping ground” for plants which the botanists cannot fit into anything else with a narrowly tubular bell. In most individuals, it is clear from the purplish to brownish outside and yellowish orange or greenish inside of the flowers. Many individuals also have a yellow rim to the distal end of the tepals. It is a common species, occurring on most mountains throughout Turkey except the far west and south west.
Cultivation Group: B Easily grown |
Fritillaria pluriflora One of the most attractive of species yet one of the most intractable in cultivation. It grows on clay grassland in the upper Sacramento valley and adjacent Coastal Range where it gets very hot in summer and the soil bakes hard but the bulbs are situated deep in the ground and seem to be protected by the clay cavity which they force open as they grow.
Cultivation Group: A It is occasionally seen in cultivation but rarely persists for long. |
Fritillaria poluninii This is perhaps the tiniest of the species with single little almost translucent whitish flowers with marked green or brown veining. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate unlike any others in the “crassifolia” group. It has persisted in cultivation since the 1960s but has remained rare because it never set seed. Recently new introductions have brought in fertile pollen parents and it is now more widely available.
Cultivation Group: B |
Fritillaria pontica Easily recognised from its green untessellated flowers with three bract leaves arranged in a whorl. This is widespread and common species occurring in forest sometimes in quite deep deciduous shade from northern Greece and into the Pontic mountains of northern Turkey.
Cultivation: Easy to grow in the garden in well drained leafy soil amongst the roots of shrubs. |
Fritillaria przewalskii One of the three Chinese species with a narrowly campanulate flower. In F przewalskii, the flowers are yellow. It grows in thickets and grassland at high altitude
Cultivation: As far as we know is not in cultivation. Perhaps Group D would be the best option if it ever becomes available. |
Fritillaria pudica This dainty little species is widespread in Great Basin area of western America.
Cultivation Group: B It can be grown quite but the bulbs have a habit of splitting into lots of tiny bulblets which take time to bring back to flowering. Some growers advocate reducing the repotting so keeping disturbance to a minimum, others; the opposite. |
Fritillaria pyrenaica ssp. pyrenaica It is characterised by its usually dark brown tesselated flowers with a triangular to ovate-lanceolate nectary (4-6mm long and 2-4mm at the base). The two similar species: F lusitanica and F montana have much longer nectaries.
Cultivation Group: B This is another good garden plant. Easy to grow. |
Fritillaria pyrenaica ssp. boissieri
Cultivation Group: B |
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.