Fritillaria meleagris

When I was sorting out a drawer I found a pack of fritillaria which I must have forgotten about in the autumn. If i stick them in now will they just sit dormant until next spring or might I get them coming up in late spring or early summer.

 

Yeah, might do.

I'm "growing" some too.

Mine are in a small zip-lock bag, inside a folded piece of kitchen paper (coffee filter paper is better as it doesn't fall to bits so easily when you want to get the seedlings back out again!, but its still a fiddly job) that I sprayed lightly with some fungicide (tap water will do if you don't have a seedling fungicide, but slight risk of fungus growing).

The kitchen paper should be thoroughly damp, but not soaking - this is so the seeds get air as well as moisture.

Pictures and Article:
http://www.robsplants.com/seed/baggy.php

My "calendar" for Fritillaria meleagris is:

18C/65F for 6-8 weeks
Then into the fridge for 6-8 weeks
Repeat the cycle until they germinate.

Check the packet at least once a week to see if any have germinated.

Tom Clothier says to have a maximum of 5C/41F and that germination is irregular and often over several months.
http://tomclothier.hort.net/page03.html#f

so I have no idea if the 18C part of the cycle will do more harm than good!

 

Hi Kristen

It's corms I have rather than seeds. So i was thinking of planting them directly in the ground.

Sally

 

Hahahaha ... brilliant! They will be SO much easier than seeds (as you will have read!)

Yup, pop them in the ground, make sure you get the planting depth right.

 

Don't get your hopes too high. These bulbs have a very short out of the ground life. Even the ones sold in packets and planted straight away are often dead.