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

It helps! They tend to be top-heavy and will bend and twist. They just look prettier straight up! Gita

Hmmm.... coming up in zone 5.... no sign of mine yet here in zone 6! But my front yard is cold (faces north). Thanks for the photo -- now I know what to look for!

The ones bleek sent me are up and running. One ended up falling over but now I notice there is a second one coming up beside it. Everytime I see your Frits I always say a prayer for you. You are very thoughtful.
Jill, mine are 8 inches high SW location. They are very interesting to look at. I love that they are early birds.
I lost a variegated one. Now that I know how to plant them (tilted sideways) I might invest in another one. Thanks again Bert

Mine are on their way up! I just planted some pansies in their corner and found them just under the mulch! Yeeeehaaaaw! Fortunately, I didn't damage them with my digger... but even brushing against the tip of the sprout, wow, you could really smell that skunkiness! I'm seeing vole holes out back, but none out front yet this year.... perhaps they're are doing their bit to drive the varmints away! :-)

(ed. for typo)

This message was edited Mar 30, 2006 6:24 PM

Mine are coming up too. And yes they do smell skunky. I have three that are this size, and if memory serves correct (no guarantee of that) i planted eight. Hoping to see the rest soon...

Going back to beginning of this thread where someone was asking why these are so expensive; Bluestone Perennials has started their Fall bulb sale and the Crown Imperials are only $6 something a bulb; yellows too. That's the cheapest I've seen on-line.

Bought most of my Imperialis bulbs from Brent & Becky's- always a reliable source and very reasonable, and a few more from MZ bulbs- never the cheapest, but they do have varieties that are rarer. Some are just poking their heads up and two of them are over 30" high. I never saw the ones I planted a few years back- maybe they were eaten, but my bet is that they drowned. I have them in large pots and raised beds now and it looks like it just might work. I did have one of the pots with Fritillaria persica outside my fenced cutting garden and while the wandering deer didn't touch the Frit, it munched down the tulips with it.

I am getting a little something showing where I planted mine...

And I'm wondering what your plant combinations are with the Crown Imperials?

I read that Orange Emperor tulips were great partners. Is that so? And if so, I wonder what else?

Truthfully, I didn't worry much about what they'd look like when (& if) they bloomed.... I'm just delighted to have mine sprouting up out front, and not a sign of a vole tunnel out there! :-) They do look like large and "loud" flowers in their catalog photos.... but I figure if I plant them anywhere that they truly don't "work" I can always pull a Red Queen ("Off with their heads!"). I know that will shock those who seek out these bulbs for their spectactular blooms... but that's not why I'm loving mine already... I'm loving them as a "varmint" deterrant! :-)

Hi critterologist! LOL I had NO idea that those fritillaria could *actually* be as "frangrantly" challenged as they are. :-D I was outside a couple of days ago cleaning out the beds where mine are planted and kept thinking "I *really* need a shower!" Then my DH remarked that those "skunk flowers" were really stinky this spring. Then it hit me...I *may* need a shower but it wasn't ME that smelled *that* bad. hehehe

Yep, mine are growing...but that's not guarantee that they are going to bloom. Funny thing is that they appear to be multiplying far quicker than I expected. In places where I know I only planted single bulbs, I've got four stems coming up. This is only the second year for those bulbs. What a surprise. I'm definitely NOT expecting flowers, that's for sure.

~julie~

Fortunately, they don't seem to be "aromatic" as long as you don't brush up against them... otherwise, they would definitely not work right by my front door! How cool that yours are multiplying so quickly... maybe I don't have to buy them by the dozens for the back yard.... :-)

Tabasco is asking the question that has always stopped me from buying those things on the fall sale rack - what do you plant with them? they are such strong colors. If they are spring bloomers you'd need dark purple something or maybe light blue.

Bleek sent me two of the rubra in the fall. So far so good. I guess they are up about 2 feet. I am dying to see them bloom! I have purchased many over the years and mostly got nothing. One year I believe I got some foliage but no blooms. I sure hope these amaze me! LOL I planted them in my red bed. :)

I bought two on fall clearance at Menards. Paid 3.50 for each. Planted them fall of 04. Last spring only one came up and got hit with a few mornings of heavy frost - no blooms. Now it has four coming up, abt a foot high. The one that did not grow last year, also is growing with one stem abt 2 inches tall and the other just out of the ground. I'm anxious to see blooms!!

I didn't worry about what to plant with the Fritillaria...:-) All I wanted to do was discourage the moles from giving the mice a place to hide out. Turned out that it didn't matter anyway because they were all that I had that bloomed at that time.

Kooger, same thing happened with mine...first year I had several that didn't bloom, this year those bulbs are sending up multiples. And they *are* gorgeous!

~julie~

I bought some at the WMart I work at after they had been marked down. They had come in for fall planting and hadn't sold by early February and they were about to be thrown away. They rang up for 2 cents a package! I got them for a friend since I don't have the space (apartment gardener). I was worried that they had deteriorated but my friend says that they're coming along nicely.

dmac - You and I have to become better acquainted (LOL).

The Kmart in our area had them for about $0.50 at the end of season also. If you're willing to baby them for a yr or 2 I imagine they turn out ok.
Bluestone has them on sale right now for $3.50 on their website

I'm definitely going to be keeping everyone in mind here at Dave's. I'm pretty spoiled with the access I have to the discount stuff at WM since I work there. They have some decent basics that have done pretty well for me while I was starting out in gardening. Unfortunately my tastes have grown--in variety and prices as well:LOL: The garden center manager and I have worked together since 1994. With as much stuff as he has to deal with out there and the fact that he doesn't garden much himself, I end up giving him info on the plant and bulb end of it. Sometimes our hands our tied because of company policies or limited markdown budgets. I think if I keep my eyes open I'll be able to share some things, I'll just have to get stuff mailed out fast:)

So, back to my question of April 7, everyone--so far the answer is: no one really has much luck with bloom so they don't really worry about companion plants?!! (this sounds like a garden challenge, doesn't it.)

Or they bloom when nothing else does--and when do they bloom (if they do) BTW? After late tulips and before Siberian Iris?....mmmm.....maybe with giant allium or eremurus?

I think they would be even more spectacular if they bloomed with a partner or two... what do you suggest?

Coreopsis? I can't think of any blue blooms at the moment... other than Iris and they may be too fussy to pair with C. I.

Thanks for your ideas. t.

I found the yellow ones do the best on my zone--I have had this one for 4 years now--just love them

Here is a pic of my persian bells--just love them too!!!

Wow, that's a great picture, cottosnag.....thanks for sharing it.

I cant remember the site --but I bought like 15 of each for only 80.00 plus shipping--then I split them with my friends--they were great bulbs--I will try to find the site I bought them for

Cheryl - those a beauties! My two Persians were first year bloomers last year and only abt 14-16 in. tall. Looks like yours are much taller. How many years did it take to get that tall? And do u have them in a protected area? I'm kinda worried that mine are in a very windy, cold spot and maybe should be moved. Laura

I always pictured the Crown Frits as taller and the Persica as shorter - ya never can tell

kooger It was my first year and yes it is in a protected site--by the house--I planted some out in the open and the persians bells are about a foot tall now--and the crown imperials are about 8 inches so far--they are later coming up tan the bells

oooooh! Magnificent C. I., cottosnag! And'plrease, what is the white flower behind it?

And your persica is a handsome plant, too...what else is growing in your garden? Do tell...?

You really have the touch!!

I just went out and checked my persian bell and it is only about 1 foot tall this year--maybe I should have fertilized it--my crown frit has 3 stalks this year and is shorter too.

Tabasco--the white flowers are leucojum aestivum--they are like snow drops but they get taller and bloom later--they really multiply!!!

I just noticed the largest of mine has buds!!! I guess i'm lucky, it's their first year. I hope the others flower too...

Tabasco: I like Frit. imperialis with Scilla siberica. Both have a long enough bloom period to make sure they overlap. My frit. imp is blooming with Tulipa 'Olympic Flame' and Leucojum as well. Having multiple plants ensures that at least one of them works.
K. James

Cotto. thanks for the info. They're getting taller... I'm hopeful! Wish I had a protected area - these are catching wind every day!

Mine are all showing lots of stinky (the whole bed has a bit of a skunk smell) buds... Can't wait to see them bloom!

I've just got 2 in the front bed, and that doesn't seem to be enough of them to produce a distinct odor as long as nobody brushes against the leaves. :-) And, best of all... no vole activity in that bed this spring!!

I got my neighbor a really cheap one (couple bucks on clearance), but it hasn't sprouted, and she just dug down to take a look... says it's kinda shriveled, but not rotted or anything, so she left it there but doesn't have big hopes for it.

Does anybody know -- is it too late to get more bulbs for this year? Can Crown Imperialis only be planted in fall (assuming I'm not willing to pay big bucks for potted plants)?

They really do kind of resemble a standard lily when the stems leaf out and they start to bud ay leaf in tombaak's picture! Once they do flower however they're totally different.

40 mph winds today and it's still looking ok! Not seeing any kind of buds yet tho.... I need a cheering team to encourage it to bud LOL ...look at the wind blowing Oscar's hair...not fun outside today!

I found the web site I ordered my fritillaria persian bells from
Garden-Shops.com 15 for 69.99 and 11.50 shipping totals 81.49--that makes them 5.43 each--that is cheap and they were huge bulbs and you can get the crown imperials too. Great place to order from!!!

Any updates/pictures of the C Is? Seem like tombaak's should be in bloom today?...

I have my first!

oh, they are gorgeous! That long space of just stem below the flowers, when did u start to see that? I'm not seeing it at all yet...... still hoping for blooms here!