PlantFiles: Crown Imperial Fritillaria
Fritillaria imperialis

It is not about the plant.
I just do not know why Home Depot sells it in Montreal. (Zone 4). I planted it in last September and I just found out that it is rotten in the earth.

I started out with 1 bulb 9 years ago and today I have more than 50 in the garden. I have moved them into full sun, partial sun, partial shade and they bloom everytime. Then they show up at different parts of the garden probably because we move soil around so bulblets must move with it. The bloom time varies depending on sun and so I get successive blooming. The plants grow relatively the same height but the blooms are smaller in the afternoon shade part of the garden. I have some near a sprinkler head and many are in no more than 6 inches of soil; some on top of clay. I am in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada Zone 4

Very effective keeping gophers away. Once I moved them the neighbor and I had problems the following spring. The reason why I give it a neutral, is because the odor is strong once they start growing to the end of the bloom period. I think that is why they are so effective. Also because they HATE to be moved. I lost mine once I did.

I collected this plant in the Zagros Mountains of Iran in the 1960's for the Royal Horticultural Society and sent the bulbs to Wisley Gardens. In the wild there they grow beneath low growing "gorse" on north-facing slopes in the foothills of the desert-mountain interface, in soil that has high pH and is rocky with total annual precipitation of circa 12 inches almost all of which comes in the form of snow. Extrapolating from their natural habitat I grow them successfully in Eastern Shore Maryland in well drained soil beneath prostrate junipers which allow the stems and leaves to rise up a foot or two into full sun. The orange-red blossoms were used as a source of carpet dye by Persian villagers.

The bulb itself has a nice musky-skunky odour of which, I must admit, I have grown fond.

The bulbs are somewhat bowl-shaped and composed of scales. This is a problem when water settles in the bowl and rots the bulb. To prevent this, plant the bulb on its side. A great deal of sun ensures more consistent blooming. Many plants tend to biannually exhaust themselves by overblooming and benefit from organically rich well-drained soil.

As a general rule, the darker the stem, the darker the flower.

I suspect this plant may only bloom well every other year. Last year I had spectacular bloom but this year the shoot shows absolutely no sign of buds, even though the plant itself looks very healthy. OTOH, Frits that failed to bloom last year have lovely buds and plenty of them.

I assume that Fritillarias need good drainage (perhaps I read that somewhere), so I put all of mine on a sand berm covered with river rock. The area gets watered twice a week, but it's still so dry that the other plants thriving in this area are: Penstemon palmeri, Agaves, Yuccas, Achillea, ornamental oreganos, species tulips, cacti, Perovskia and Eremurus.

Try to be careful not to bruise or slice into the bulb while planting the bulb or other things nearby, because it smells BAD! And don't even think about cutting for the flowers for the house, because the whole house will have a certain Eau de Pepe le Pew aroma in short order.

Should be called "Royal Imperial". This is really the king of lillies. I was told it's rodent repellent.

Very effective in borders. Bulbs multiply. Best to leave them alone once they are planted.

A regal garden monarch. Its elegant circle of red-orange bells is topped by a distinctive coronet of foliage.