Do I want to spend the money on a Crown Imperalis fritillary

Why are these so expensive..... I saw some in a magazine and they were quite impressive but why are they so expensive and are they really worth the money ..... anywhere from 10.00 - 25.00 a bulb + shipping......

Check van Englen, they may be a bit cheaper but not much I am sure. Yeh, they are expensive . I have never tried them but always wanted to. A friend grew so once and they were magnificent.

They are something very special in the garden, flower for quite some time and.......chase away moles.

Hi Bert, long time no talk. Did you make a trip to Oregon this summer? Hey you are the guy who probably knows where there is good source for gladiola? Would love to see some pictures on line or a printed catalog would do too.

Tried them twice in two different areas - narry a bloom... Good luck

I tried some this year, none came up. They are really pricey for no bloom what so ever.

Robin

I think Brent & Becky has a good price on Fritilaria Imperialis.
They are really lovely and their smell keeps the critter away.

I know I've found gladiola's several different places. I keep them
year after year - just dig 'em up in the fall and plant them again in
spring. I store them in a box in the basement.

Tam

I have never had any do anything. I have tried in the dirt, on gravel, on sand, on their sides. Nothing ever even comes up. :( If I can grow blasted Eremurus, you would think I could grow these. LOL

I agree. I traded for the variegated fritillary and it must have rotted in the ground because I never was able to find it. i am glad I did not lose the $$ only a clematis that I rooted. Linda

My neighbor had a Crown Imperial Frittalaria that bloomed this spring for the first time in about 5 years. While I've read that they don't necessary bloom each year, I wonder if they do best left undisturbed? I know I was awed at the blooms and wanted one of my very own. :)

Lenjo,

Go to Oregon at least 1 time per year. Need to go again sometime this Fall.....our 9th. grand child is going to be born there the end of this month.

Yes, ofcourse I know where you can get gladiolus. Do you need them for selling the bulbs or selling the flowers?

No more Dahlia's he? I am surprised.

Bert.I don't want them commercially. My hubby just wants to grow a few. No more commercial dahlias. Our heart just wasn't in the marketing. Come say hello when your grandbaby comes.

Badseed, I can't grow foxtail lilies , good for you. So these crown imperials are like they are they? then I won't waste my money.

If I can get my hands on an Imperialis, I will bring it.

:)

Any chance you'll go through Kansas on your way Bleek....... : - )

Yes I am.

Crown Imperial are notorious...I had one that bloomed the following spring then went 8 years before it flowered again...this spring it had 4 sprouts but only one bloomed. The bulb is at least splitting..I guess that's a good sign. They do not like to be disturbed once planted. A local nursery has a border of them that come back year after year! I have no idea how they do it but they swear the ones they have have been planted there for 6 years without being replaced. It takes many years for them to reach blooming-sized bulbs so that's why they are expensive...mind you our local nurseries sell them for about $7 Canadian each.

Thanks Todd - I might try one just because I've been wanting one for so long if I can find one for 7.00 ..... sounds like I should be ready to be disappointed and estatic if it actually does something.... wait isn't that what all gardening is .... ; - )

Try Brent & Becky's. They had the best price I could find anywhere last year.
Tam

We planted two Crown Imperial bulbs in a corner of our yard in Chicago10 years ago. The next year, one came up, grew quickly to about two feet and died back. It has actually bloomed three times since then and in the "off" years it sends up a fast growing stem - but yellows and dies before reaching full height. In our experience, the non-thriving years are those with a really wet Spring. The corner it's in holds the moisture way too long. Every year we say we'll move it in fall - and then don't think of it again until it's nose appears in Spring. Here is the only picture taken of it this year.

Hi...I bought 10 Crown Imperial bulbs last year ('04)...Don't gasp! :-) I got them from http://colorblends.com/ and the price was amazing...as was the number of bulbs that actually bloomed for me.

I was having the worst invasion of moles in my yard and they were undermining everything...iris, daylilies, shastas, you name it, they were tunnelling under it leaving my plants "high and dry". I'd read about the Frittilaria being a natural mole repellent so, trying to save what was left in my garden, I took the gamble. AND I WON!!! (Sort of...)

I planted a couple of the bulbs right in the middle of one of the main tunnels. I checked back a few days later and found that the moles most definitely *went around* them. Actually, after I planted the Frittilaria the moles left and I haven't seen them (their tunnels) since.

Granted, I didn't have all ten bulbs bloom this past spring...but those that did bloom were well worth the money I spent. They put on quite a show very early this spring. PLUS they survived several hard frosts when the weather went 'bad' on us. To repeat myself...they are amazing!

Now, I'll just have to wait until next year to see if they bloom again. (But to tell the truth, even if the only thing they do is keep the moles out of my garden, I'll be satisfied!)

Thanks for the info on the non-blooming bulbs and the 'better if left undisturbed' notes.

~julie~

Costco has fritillaria Imperialis four to a bag for 8.99 !!! This last week they were on sale $2 off. I bought two bags, 8 for $14 seemed a screaming deal.

I've also heard they skip years quite often, and don't usually bloom the first year after planting.

Melissa

edited to say... Two maxima lutea and two rubra maxima... or two yellow and two red.

This message was edited Aug 28, 2005 10:55 AM

RDT---believe it or not last Fall I bought 2 and planted them and they were gone come Spring--I think rats ate them!! Supposed to repel rodents but something ate mine!!

tombaak--I WISH I had money right now!! I'd send you $20 to get some for me!! hehehe I would LOVE to have a few--don't know if the flowers, etc would work for squirrels or not but would like them anyway!! I live in a fairly wooded city lot and have LOTS of squirrels. I feed them corn but they still eat out of my bird feeders--more than the birds do I think?!! hehehe

Bonnie

I bought two last year at the expensive price. They came up, grew about 2 feet, turned yellow and dies, as Green's did. However, this year I found one of our local nurseries are selling them for $4.95 each. I am going to buy a couple more and see if they do better. No shipping, 1/3 the cost - I'm dying to have those flowers. Maybe the other ones will bloom this spring... Hope springs eternal.... :) I bought a ton of other bulbs today, too - most $.55 each or less (if you bought 10)....

Funny, i just planted 8 of them. They were from Costco and cost me less than $2 a piece. I am hoping (fingers crossed) that out of 8 i should get a couple of blooms. If they bloom, next year i'm buying a bunch at the costco sale.

I'm glad I found this thread---bought a few of them to plant, but had no idea from the directions that they are so picky as everyone describes!

http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/plants/2001sp_fritillarias.html

I did find this rather good and detailed Brooklyn Botanic Garden essay about planting requirements for the Crown Imperial Frits...I did not realize they favored alkaline soil---and from what this fellow says about preparing the soil with sand, manure, and all sorts of other amendments, it sounds like they are quite finicky about perfect drainage and the bed they are planted in...

Sounds like they are quite a challenge, but I imagine well worth it, if they bloom, that is!

This no doubt explains why the Persica Frits I planted last year we 'no shows'.

Well, I bought 4 today, and planted them, simply in hopes they will make the critters go away. I lost so much this past year to moles or voles or gophers or something.... hundreds of bucks worth of things. I can only hope!

Sanna

Hmm... planted 2 myself, but alkaline soil you say? Hmmm.... now that I've moved to the Northwest I'm finding it's a whole new world of gardening. Oh well, at least I don't have to chill the tulips!

Our local Lowes has them for about $5 each and I think I'll pick up some- the dual insentive of mole chasing and the hope of actually seeing flowers is enough for me! I have read that since the bulbs are composed of large scales, perfect drainage is a must because they will rot easily. That source said tilting the bulb in the planting hole helps keep water from gathering and collecting in the scales of the bulb. They smell like a skunk, so I can see how they'd run off critters. But then my dog loves stinky things, so I hope she's not tempted!

Neal

Neal...the bulbs I got this year from Colorblends looked more like a 'pinwheel' sweet roll...but they sure didn't smell like one. LOL

And an update on how they work with moles...pretty good so far. They do tend to make their tunnels *around* the bulbs. But, alas, they are *still* in my yard. (Returned just this week after a whole summer of being 'mole free'. :-( )

~julie~
P.S. Colorblends catalog is still the least expensive place I've found to buy the frits.

All of Costco's bulbs are on sale for 5.97 a bag. I bought another bag of the Fritts today. 4 to a bag for 6 bucks (two yellow, two red) It is a screaming deal!!!

Do the foliage & blooms also smell like skunk, or just the bulbs? I had a vole problem last spring, especially in my front bed where they ate up a bunch of nice species tulips, so I'm thinking this plant might be a good choice.... but if it also chases people away from my front door, that won't be so good!

LOL...critterologist...it's only the bulbs that smell like a skunk. The foliage and flowers don't have the same odor (Thank goodness!)

~julie~

Thanks, Julie! I'll be at the lookout for these at Lowe's etc.... since I want them more for their hopefully vole-repelling characteristics than for their blooms, I'm quite happy with the idea of smaller bulbs that may take a few years to bloom.

critterologist...I'd be ecstactic if I could find 'cheap' frits...they'd be planted as an edging around *every* flower bed in my yard. LOL
GO FOR IT!!

~julie~

Yes, those Costco bulbs sound like a great deal if they will keep the critters out of the garden...I read in a catalog though, not to plant the Frit Persicaria close to your doorways because they have a 'skunkish' aroma...mmm...

Just want to chime in my 2 cents worth....

Several years ago, I bought 4 bulbs at my HD for 4.95 each. Pretty steep! I could not plant them right away, so I put them in a bag in myshed.
The mice ate two of them! So much for repelling rodents.....

Here's something I have heard/read about these bulbs. NOT sure if it is 100% true, but..........
It is better if you plant them on their side. That way, the water will not collect in the top of the bulb which could cause them to rot out. They will still sprout OK. Can't hurt to take this precaution!

Gita

Gita...I bought a dozen more this year (I just can't resist them for some reason). And I belive that the instructions that came with te order said to plant them on their sides. In my soil there's little chance that any water would stay around them long enough to cause any damage, but I did it anyway.

~julie~

I thought I'd bump this thread back up to the top, since now spring of 2006 is here! I'd be interested in hearing if your frit blooms this year, julie88!

I bought a bag of 3 (yellow? red? orange? not sure) last year from my local nursery. I think I paid $10/3 bulbs. They are currently coming out of the ground. Here's a picture from today. They seem to be staggered in heights. This one is the tallest. The other is only about 3" out of the ground, and the third is just emerging.

Yikes... I'm hopeful that I get a bloom at all, it doesn't seem to be very easy to grow these suckers!!

Oh... and I wanted to ask, I've seen a lot of photos with these flowers staked... is it necessary??