Grouse Species - Fritillaria, Rare In Our Gardens

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Grouse Fritillaria meleagris from the Liliaceae family

Hazel grouse

There is a genus of Fritillaria in the Liliaceae family. This plant got its scientific name because the flower is similar in shape to a vessel for dice (from the Latin fritillus - goblet), but the same word is translated as a chessboard. The plant received the Russian name "hazel grouse" for its resemblance to the variegated feathers of this forest bird.

Despite the great variety of species (about 170), in the gardens you can mainly see the chess and imperial hazel grouses. Our St. Petersburg flower growers and gardeners are well acquainted with them. I want to talk about other, less common species that are now appearing on store shelves.

The Theresia group includes only one species: Persian hazel grouse (F. persica = F. Arabica). He came to us from Iran and Turkey. This is a majestic plant, demanding for warmth and light. With the right choice of a place for planting, its stem reaches a height of 1-1.2 m. It looks unusually impressive when up to 30 flowers of a dark purple color bloom on it.

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We plant it only in an open, sunny area, in an elevated place with good drainage. A lover of summer heat will not die in a cool summer, but next year it will not bloom, so summer digging is absolutely necessary. So it happened for me. After the first flowering, the bulbs were divided in half, but not even the peduncles were laid. To get guaranteed flowering, after digging, it is necessary to warm up the bulbs for a month at t = + 25 … 30 ° С.

You can place them in the attic in a box, but you just need to exclude direct sunlight. Can be placed next to the heater. For the winter, in order to protect young shoots from damage by spring frosts, plants should be mulched. The agricultural technology of this plant is similar to that of the imperial hazel grouse - planting from mid-August, i.e. before or after the appearance of the first roots. Put the onion on its side to avoid water getting inside. Be sure to add a mixture of sand and ash under it.

Tall varieties of Adiyaman, Sonkoy are known in the culture, Ivory Bell is very rare - ivory. Collectors have an even rarer form with a two-tone color of flowers: the outer lobes are brown, the inner ones are cream.

Hazel grouse akmopetala

The most numerous Eufritillaria group includes species originating from Western Europe, the Mediterranean and Western Asia. Their habitat is closer to our soil and climate. You don't have to create special conditions for them, and you don't even need to dig them out. Periodic replanting is necessary, since with an increase in the number of bulbs in the nest, the feeding area decreases, and the plants become smaller. In addition to the hazel grouse, this group includes:

Grouse (F. pallidiflora Schrenk.) 15 to 50 cm in height. In the cluster there are up to 2-6 light yellow flowers up to 5 cm in diameter. Inside, the bells have a dark green pattern. This hazel grouse blooms in the second half of May. Prefers sunny locations.

It grows in the subalpine meadows of the Tien Shan, so it needs a dry summer maintenance. You can protect it from moisture in a rainy year by covering the plantings with a film or an old umbrella: both decoration and benefits. Otherwise, this hazel grouse is unpretentious and can grow for many years in the same place.

Grouse Mikhailovsky

Grouse Mikhailovsky (Fritillaria michailowskyi) - its graceful burgundy flowers with a yellow edge attract the eye. The plant is low, only up to 20 cm in height, so it looks good in rock gardens. Blooms in mid-May. Large, well-fed bulbs are less resistant to disease, which can be the reason for their death in years with wet summers.

This hazel grouse is a resident of subalpine meadows, therefore it prefers poor soils in the sun and in thin shade. There are two forms: up to 25 cm high, which gives 1-2 flowers, and lower - up to 15 cm, blooming much more abundantly.

Assyrian grouse (Fritillaria uva vulpis (assyriaca). This species prefers moist soil in the sun and in partial shade. It has high stems up to 35 cm, on which there are 1-3 small bell-shaped flowers. Outside they are dirty brown, and inside - olive. Along the edge of the perianth there is a yellow stripe. Externally similar to the previous one, but more faded and small-flowered.

Fritillaria acmopetala Boiss is a plant up to 50-60 cm tall with 1-2 flowers up to 2 cm in diameter. Its zest is that almost all "bells" have their own individual color (green with dark-burgundy smeared strokes). Blooms from the second half of May for about two weeks.

Grows in full sun and partial shade. There is the acmopetala wendelboi, a shorter plant with shorter and wider leaves. Its flowers are angular in shape, very different in appearance from the main shape. Their green perianths are brown-spotted and bordered with a dark purple stripe.

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Requirements for the conditions of keeping hazel grouses

Hazel grouse

I want to remind novice growers about some growing rules, which are almost the same for most bulbs, including hazel grouses. The landing site must be well-drained and not flooded by groundwater or heavy rains.

Soils are better suited to neutral, do not use organic fertilizers. You can only dig up and replant after the bulbs have passed into a dormant state, i.e. when the foliage of a normal, healthy plant begins to turn yellow. Small bulbs quickly lose moisture and should therefore be planted immediately after digging. It is better not to acquire sluggish, wrinkled bulbs, they are unlikely to be able to take root and survive the winter.

Planting depth, as usual, to a depth equal to the height of three bulbs, which is approximately 5-8 cm for small species and 15-25 cm for species with a large bulb, for example, for the imperial hazel grouse.

See also: Grouse - primroses in your garden