Crown Imperials

My 3 Crown Imperials I planted last year ,1 no trace , 1 grew no flower and 1 flowered majestically ,have now been decimated by slugs all that`s left is a bare stalk, will they come again next year ??

 

Probably not.
I found they get eaten by slugs under ground.
Assuming the soil is free draining, they should do ok, but they should be planted quite deep.

Cant understand why they are sold in shallow pots in spring in garden centres just coming into flower, they are usually miserable specimens.

Also watch out for lilly beetles.

 

Had to spray for lily beetles a month ago

 

So while doing a little tidying last night I pushed the fork under them to look at the bulbs, they were all slimy and covered with decaying matter ?, I cleaned them off and still had 1 good size bulb with small bulblets on the base ,and 1 that fell into 2 separate smaller pieces.
So what now ,I have left them in the greenhouse "drying" should I dry them right out and replant in the Autumn ,in a pot or whats the best advice .

 

Oh no.
You dont dig them up.
They should be left in the ground, the top growth building up the new bulb for next year.
I know you said all the top growth was eaten, but normally it would continue growing until late June.
Once established they are best left alone and not lifted.

 

Whoops

 

Oh what a shame Pam , I've been thinking of buying some myself so have read this with interest, looking at Petes advice I'll have to improve drainage in my heavy clay first
We went to Harlow Carr this weekend and they had a fabulous display, soooo envious

 

So the crown imperials i dug up in May,I put in a pot and covered with compost ,decided to take a look and 1 large healthy bulb and 2 smaller ones ,so not willing to risk in ground I think i will put them in a pot with copper tape round .

 

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Pete one survived this is it today, there is a shoot from another but no flower , will leave them in the pot to grow on.

 

I grow these successfully in clay soil Pam. The soil has been improved to provide the drainage they need but the most important thing to prevent rot (in the ground or in a pot) is to plant the bulbs on their sides.

 

Ahhh, but do they stay on their sides

 

Boogered if I know, I've never dug 'em up

 

Just think if you plant them on their side the first year, will they still be that way the following year?

 

A few days ago I went to a very good talk by Kevin Pratt, who used to hold the national collection for Fritillarias. He talked about all manner of unusual hardy bulbs. He said that generally Fritillarias are very hardy - some down to -18C, but they don't like the wet and tend to rot over winter if its too wet.

He grew lots of the smaller ones, and said that he tended to grow them under evergreen hedges and shrubs, where they were kept dry over the winter. They could then grow up through the other plants. However he didn't mention F. imperialis - I wished I had asked him - but I had so many questions about other things.

He also used to have the national collection of Eucomis, and said the same about them. His tip was to put a handful of perlite both above and below when planting them.