Crown Imperial Frittilary - History

You'll love this blog about Frittilary imperialis: http://riowang.blogspot.com/2009/10/imperial-crown.html

Such a beautiful flower and
an interesting history for a plant.
charleenThanks

You're very welcome. I don't usually copy or forward stuff I get from emails, but this was too good to not pass on.

I don't have very good luck with them down here, It may not
be cool enough, long enough for them to make but they sure are beautiful.
Do you grow any?

Since their habitat is the western Himalayas, they are subject to somewhat extreme cold. Frittilaries in general also like a lot of moisture and dry out very quickly. I'm in a mostly Mediterranean climate which means many months of dry climate w/very little cold weather, so I don't have much luck with them either.

guess they just won't be a good choice for Florida either ~LOL~

Just to make both of you feel better - the flowers and bulbs smell like rotten meat! LOL

have heard that , faeden. .. might be a good neighbor deterant though!! *S*

I guess we are all up a creek with no paddle, huh, folks.
Oh well, I have some voodoo lilies so just got to wait
for them to stink!!
Charleen

LOL!!

I'll bet the voodoo lilies will outdo the Frittilaries any day of the week! I've smelled Amorphophallus titanum, and Oh, Boy, is that bad!

But they are an interesting plant to grow.
A starfish Cactus is on the list too.
So there are a few Smelly plants to love.
Charleen

What's a starfish cactus? I've been growing cactus and succulents for almost 20 years and have never heard of it.

here you go. Stapelia gigantia
There are several Stapelia varieties.
I love the bloom, it just smells a little.
Charleen

Oh, I should have thought of that - not a cactus at all, but one of the Stapelias. Most of the Asclepidaceae flowers smell like carrion - Stapelia, Orbea, Tromotriche, Huernia, Hoodia, Caralluma, etc. etc.

I bet you have some interesting plants them. These are great plants, don't demand anything. But when I tried to move it early in the year, I broke it. I could have kicked my own rump. I got them home finally. I will have to look up the others to see what they look like. they sound interesting. Thanks
Charleen

Actually I don't have too many plants at home anymore. I volunteer at a botanic garden, and ever since I started my enthusiasm for gardening at home has diminished. Once I've spent all that time there propagating C&S I don't want to do anything else at home. I have a box of South African bulbs which desperately need to be repotted - do you think I've done it? NOOOOO!!! Aaarrggghhh! :>)

You have wore yourself out at work.
You will get it done or they will dry up and blow away. I have done that too, and then wonder why I wanted them in the first place.
Why do we do such silly things is beyond me. Seems I am always wanting something, whether I need them or not.
So hang in there and maybe you will get them planted.

Maybe if I take them to the botanic garden I'll get them done! LOL

That sounds like a winner. I looked up the plants you mentioned.
Very interesting groups of plants.
What bulbs do you have? I probably wouldn't know but we can talk about them anyway.

Oh, boy, now that's a question! I do have a LOT of bulbs, only because they don't take much work. In my area I seldom have to water them - they just come up year after year. Here are some: Babiana, Tritonia, Freesia, Ferraria, Massonia, Haemanthus, Drimiopsis/Ledebouria, Ornithogalum, Stenomesson, Albuca, Lachenalia, Lapeirousia, Ammocharis, Brunsvigia, Urginea, Oxalis, Ixia, Stenomesson, Hymenocallis, Ipheion, Polyxena, Romulea, Nerine, Crinum. I know there are more, but that's all I can think of right now. Take a look here for a LOT of different bulbs: http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/PhotographsAndInformation

Which ones do you grow?

I have some Amaryllis, oxalis, Crium, You have some there I have never heard of but recentlyVarigated Spider plant, I do have somered Spider lilies.So I guess I do have a few. Not so many as you. No wonder you are tired.
My oxalis is very interesting, as they make bulbs on top of bulbs on top, and on and on. I was so surprized. I have some Calla lilies I planted in the ground , dug them up this afternoon, they had gotten quite large. I was suprized at the size. I took a pic. I rinsed them and after I moved themI powdered them with insecticide.

Those Calla bulbs ARE very interesting, and great sizes! Weird looking, aren't they? I haven't seen many people around here growing them. The red spider lilies I assume are Lycoris? That's another one that doesn't grow well here. I don't think they like our winter rain.

I haven't noticed my Oxalis growing bulbs on top of bulbs, but I do know of several other South African species which do.

Crinums and Amaryllis do extremely well in your area, don't they? They do OK here, but I can only imagine how wonderful they are in the South.

I will get you a pic of the oxalis.
I leave my Amaryllis out and don't bring them in. I don't have a grrenhouse but it would be wonderful, maybe one day.
But it is o.k. I do enjoy my plants esppecially since I have been retired. I can go back to a "safe" hobby, since my
horseback, mule riding days have unseated me much too many times. No, they didn't throw me, I just couldn't keep my rump in the saddle. ^_^ Getting too old to have so many pains.
I bet you have an interesting job. Do Callas grow in your area very good? I have started planting them outside and leaving them too.
I believe that is why they grew so large.

I got the pic. The neighbors horses opened the gate and got out, my mule was going bonkers.
the man that owned the horses got them all turned around we gt eveything under control. I fed my mule o calm him down. The donkeys were on the back pastures. All this when I went out to take a simple picture.
Loved it. So glad it wasn't mine for once. ^_^
See, one on top of the other. Amazing.
Charleen

Charleen that is an interesting picture. I think I might have some of that oxalis growing too. I am most curious if mine are the same ones.
Charleen you think that stapelia is only a little stinky? MIne is growing outside on the west side of my house. I had 2-3 flowers open at one time and my kids come running around the house and just stopped and gagged and wanted to know what the cats had killed!!!

faeden you have a couple of builbd growing that I am not familiar with I need to go and look them up. Do you have them all in the ground?

Ok I do not have Stenomesson or Polyxena. ( do you have a source for these?) I do have quite a few that you have listed my only problem is I do not know which are which right now. Mine got all mixed up when they were dug up this year and so I have them all in pots waiting to blloom so I can try and identify them. I am going to ahve to start all over in trying to keep species seperated from one another.

this is the green one, that has a pretty little pink bloom.
You would be welcome to some if you don't have any. Marie, did you see how they are growing
one bulb on top of the other. I thought that was interesting. Brought those calla bulbs in, they are talking Serious
Rain on the way.
charleen

Your calla bulbs look great. I think I am leaving mine in the ground but not positive yet since we are supposed to ahve a lot of rain this winter. Thanks for the offer on the oxalis. If mine are not the same then I will take you up on it.

OK, now THAT'S weird! I've never seen any bulbs do that. The ones that I mentioned above look entirely different when they have one bulb on top of another. Thanks for the offer of the Oxalis. I have so many different ones now that I think I'll have to decline. Once I get them in the ground and they multiply I might have some to share too.

People here leave their Amaryllis belladona outside year round. But if you're talking about the other "Amaryllis," which is correctly called Hippeastrum, we don't leave those outside. It seems to me that Callas would grow well here, but I don't see them very often.

What a trial to go through for just one picture! Glad the horses and mule decided to behave themselves.

I do enjoy my volunteer work at the botanic garden, both for the work itself and the enjoyment of the wonderful people who work and volunteer there. What a wealth of information there is to be had!

Marie - I'm a member of the Pacific Bulb Society and got my Polyxena through them. I got the Stenomesson from the botanic garden where I volunteer. I gave you some sources for bulbs in the C&S forum here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1053802/ They're about halfway down the thread.

Almost all of my bulbs are in pots. I keep telling myself that I'm going to put them in the ground, but I never seem to get around to it. Maybe next year - HAH!

You can take pictures when they bloom and share them with us. We would love to see them.
I was hoping you would like my adv enture. I never know what is going on next.
But I wouldn't have seen them if I hadn't gone out to take that picture. I'm glad I did.
Charleen

The Oxalis REALLY need to be in the ground. Many of them don't bloom at all in their pots. You can see a lot of Oxalis pictures here: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Oxalis

Loved your adventure! I'm glad you were out there when it was all going on. And some people think equines are stupid - NOT!

Not at all. One of the horses opened the gate latch.
Now he will remember that and will do it again. I had
to snap a lock on mine when my old horse did the same
thing.
I am going to plant them in the crease of the stone wall around the flower beds.
Thanks,
Charleen

Faeden I went through your bulb sources ( I buy from all of them too) I just did not know if you had a different source since I do not recall seeing those 2 for sale. I will go back and double check and plan on joining the bulb society sometime this week. I have been meaning to for at least the last 2 years since my favorite plants come from bulbs, corms or rhizomes. Now that is funny I take mine out of the ground and you are wanting to put yours in!! I have too much of a drainage problem and the little area that my husband got ready for my african bulbs has been taken over by a couple of other plants that needed better drainage.

My oxalis grow and bloom in pots I have 2 varieties blooming right now. My favorite though is this one and it is in the grounf i got 5 little bulbs for 30.00 and they are taking there sweet time multiplying. They just started showing themselves again ( at least I think that is what is coming up) I am wondering if the drainage has to do with their multiplying.

Faeden, I have the oxalis put back in the ground. They are o.k. now.
That is a pretty yellow bloom, Marie.
Charleen

RRM - I think the Oxalis will look good in the stone wall.

I've heard that about horses - once they learn such little tricks they don't forget. Glad it's HIS problem and not yours! LOL

Marie - I know you'll enjoy your subscription to the PBS. I've learned a lot from them, and the bulbs they offer are exquisite. The latest offering (today) has a LOT of seed.

I think my bulbs will do much better in the ground, especially in the front yard. I already have built-up berms there and great drainage. I have no idea what makes some bulbs multiply faster than others. That's a good question though, and one you should ask the PBS group once you've joined. I don't think anyone has asked that since I've been a member.

And if you want to show them my wierd picture, you can.
I wonder do all the oxalis do that or just that particular one?

There is a large variety of them. i didn't realize there was so many.
Bulbs are little powerhouses of energy, aren't they?
Thanks for helping me understand .
Charleen

My Oxalis don't do this as far as I know. Of course, when I do start putting them in the ground I'll find out for sure! Unfortunately, I can't directly attach pictures to the discussion group. I have to go through a really convoluted process to put them on the wiki and then refer to them.

I like the South African bulbs a lot because I'm lazy. In my area they need very little care - they don't want water when we don't have rain, and want water when we do have rain. Many of them not only don't need fertilizer, they don't like it either. The only thing I have to do is provide them with fast-draining soil, step back and watch them grow.

That is the kind of plant to have, isn't it?
Are you going to post pic when they bloom.so I can see them?/
I hope so. I will wonder around and find you again, o.k.?
I have enjoyed our talks.
Charleen

I'll try to take pictures, but I have no guarantee that they'll bloom much. We'll see what happens.

We'll see each other around - it looks like we both get around DG in some of the same places. I've enjoyed our talks too.

TTYL