Plant Calendar

Planting Time

Flowering Time

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Description

The Crown Imperial is a true must-have for a stately spring garden, with its true impact being seen in April and May.
Also known as Fritillaria imperialis, this boasts bright orange and striking blooms, with an impressive whorl of leaves on top.
There is a unique fragrance, which repels moles, mice and other rodents.
Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence, for stunning displays for many years to come.
Supplied as a pack on 2 bulbs, size 20/24 ready to plant out in autumn.

Top Tips

Plant bulbs on their sides to help to avoid water collecting in their hollow crowns and prevent the bulbs from rotting.
Fritillaria plants resent being dug up and moved so for best results plant where they will remain.

Care Information

Planting Advice:

Plant 30cm (12in) deep from September to November in fertile, well-drained soil, and keep an eye out for slug and snail damage when the new foliage is emerging in spring.
Plants benefit from early morning sun then light shade in the afternoon.
Avoid heavy clay or anywhere where water sits.
Heavy soil can be improved with the addition of sharp sand or horticultural grit.
Add 1cm of coarse sand to the planting hole before placing the bulbs pointed end up.

Aftercare Advice:

When growing fritillaries, it is essential to allow their foliage to die back naturally as this will feed the bulb for the following year.
During their dormant period the soil should be kept almost dry to prevent the bulbs from rotting. Begin watering sparingly as the bulbs start back into active growth.
After flowering has finished, trim off spent blossoms. The stalks will dry and then can be removed.

Trimming Advice for Fritillaries:

Leave stems to turn brown before trimming back to the base. This will ensure that nutrients have been returned to the bulb for next season.

Delivery Information

Our experienced team at the nursery will always carefully package and send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive once you receive and plant them. Although most plants are extremely tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme of weather conditions, we always avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme frosts or heat is forecast. We also avoid dispatching orders over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. If you have ordered a 'pre-order' item, these will be sent out as soon as possible after the quoted dispatch date and we generally ship your entire order with any pre-ordered items. Once your order has been dispatched, we will send you an email with details on how you can track it.

We send most of our orders via a fully tracked courier service with Yodel. We will send you a tracking link as soon as your order has been dispatched. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, we will not require a signature on delivery, and we ask out couriers to leave your item in a safe place ad your delivery address.

*Please note, once your item has been delivered, we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your delivery address. If you have delivery instruction and require our courier to leave your item in a specific place, please let us know - there is an option to leave a message for the courier at the checkout.

For smaller and single-item orders, we may send these via the post with Royal Mail - Tracking will not be available for orders sent via this method.

**Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.

For all orders, a small delivery fee of £4.99 will be charged or spend over £49.99 for FREE Delivery!

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