Plant of the Month March 2026
GENERAL INFORMATION: This delightful, long-lived bulb may be sold as Fritillaria verticillata (as mine was) or F. verticillata var thunbergii or F. thunbergii. According to fritillaria.org.uk/, F. verticillata has a bell with square shoulders, while F. thunbergii has rounded shoulders. Also there is uncertainty of its exact origin. Used in Asian medicine.
Common Name: Whorled Fritillary.
Life Cycle: Perennial clump forming bulb. Each bulb with 2 scales, about 2cm in diameter.
Height: to 30 cm or more.
Bloom Time: End of April to early May in Southern Ontario.
Flower Colour & Size: can have up 15 down-facing, bell shaped, pale greenish flowers with brownish chequered pattern inside. F. thunbergii has a rounded shape.
Scent: Unscented.
Leaves: lanceolate to linear narrow, grey green, up to 9 cm long in whorls of 5 or more. They twist and end in a curled tendrils.
Fruit: A 3 chambered, 6 angled capsule with many flat seeds. My plant has never produced seeds.
Range: Fritillaria thunbergiI is native from western China to Japan. F. verticillata is native from South Siberia to Japan.
Habitat: Hills, thickets, gravelly meadows.
CULTIVATION:
Plant: deeply.
Light: Partial to full sun.
Soil: Most well drained soils.
Water: Average. Avoid wet winter conditions.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-9.
Pests and Diseases: Possibility of Lily beetle or slugs. Usually disease free.
Companion planting: Rock garden plants, short spring bulbs, small Hosta.
Pollinators: Bees, flies.
Propagation: Divide bulbs when dormant in fall.
Seedex availability: best with fresh seed. Try planting outdoors with winter temperatures including freezing for 3 months.Grow seedlings at cool temperature and leave in pot for 2 years.
Toxicity: Used in Chinese medicine.
References:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/7444/fritillaria-verticillata/details
https://www.fritillaria.org.uk/fritillaria-species-t---z.html
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027649
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/452303-Fritillaria-verticillata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://www.phoenixperennials.com/plant-encyclopedia/
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org › PlantFinder
https://pacifichorticulture.org/articles
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt