The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents
DEAR GARDEN PROBLEM LADY, by Wendy Blair I plan to buy some Fritillaria bulbs this fall. Judging from pictures they’re very tall and stunningly beautiful. But a gardening friend made a face when I told her. How do they grow? Yes – Fritillaria (pictured) are very tall—3thee to four feet—making an unusual statement in a spring garden in Zones 5 to 8. Brilliant scarlet or golden yellow or even chocolate colored, drooping, bell-shaped flowers top a tall, straight stem. Leaves appear in whorls around the base. Fritillaria like full sun or dappled shade. Plant the bulbs about 6 inches deep in rich loamy soil, 9 to 12 inches apart. Oddly, plant bulbs sideways to prevent the stem hole in the bulb from trap-
ping water that could cause bulb rot. It all dies back by early summer as the bulbs go dormant. Your friend may have been thinking of the somewhat skunk-like odor of all parts of the plant. Never mind. They’re lovely. Mother always loved jonquils. Why don’t I see jonquil bulbs in garden stores? Jonquil is the Mediterranean “Narcissus Jonquilla.” Narcissus is Greek, from the myth about the beautiful young man, Narcissus, who was cursed by a rejected lover to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool. Unable to possess the beautiful reflection, he committed suicide, and was transformed into a flower. Narcissus is
Fritillaria
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