Fritillaries

Hi,
I love frits,I have persica,michaialovskyi,and the snakes head frittalaria,

Did you know crown royals are frits too?

The collectors' frits are just to blow you away. I'll see if I can find some pics on the internet.

I like them too. Unfortunately we have a pest spreading through the UK from the south, lily beetle, which is also fond of the frits too. It eats the leaves, weakening and killing them. They are bright red so easily visible but always fall red side down if knocked to the ground (so you can't see them against the soil)

I suffered loads last year from lily beetles on my Fritillaries and lillies.
There are some pics on my page of both Fritillaries and Lily beetle.

I must have found at least 12 in one go last year.

I also get Lily bettle problems, but i got so fed up with my lily's amdf Frits being destroyed I now confess to using Provado

Iv'e only ever found the beetles. It is kind of satisfying squishing them, although I did see the grubs on some of my mother in laws lillies. They looked like slimey bird poo.

Fritillaria meleagris (Snake's Head Fritillary) is my favourite flower (although I don't have any!).

David, get some.
I bought a bag a couple of years ago and last year there was a few more, this year it would be great if there are more.

I had some once, TandT, but a long time ago. I always forget to get them for autumn planting. I think, this year, I shall just have to buy potted plants to ensure that I get them (more expensive, of course). I wouldn't be surprised if your number has increased this year.

Amazon has a beautiful book on fritillaries. It is called:
"The Gardener's Guide to Growing Fritillaries" by Kevin Pratt and Michael Jefferson-Brown. I have it. I bought it when I thought I'd like to become a collector. Because fritillaries are truly a "collector's item". I don't mean the ones you can buy on the market (lovely though they are). I'm talking about the varieties which come from such places as Anatolia, China, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, you name it. They are of all different shapes, colors and sizes, and are just fascinating. But if you want to have these, you must coddle them. And I should think it would be best to plant them (the little ones at any rate) in sinks and tubs. The requirements of the different varieties can vary greatly. I suppose this is logical, since they come from all over the northern hemisphere. I actually ordered several of these varieties from a specialist in Berlin and tried to meet all of their requirements as to soil, depth of planting, water, light etc., but I had to admit that I do not have the single-mindedness of a true collector. I remain fascinated by the genus.