Plant profile: Fritillaria the understated spring bulbs come in many guises from the subtle and intriguing to the dramatic and beguiling

Often overlooked in favour of more bold spring-flowering bulbs, fritillaries come in many guises from the subtle and intriguing to the dramatic and beguiling

Hortus Bulborum Founded in 1928, Hortus Bulborum in the Netherlands, where most of these images were taken, is a museum garden that holds around 4,000 springflowering historical bulbs. Although the collection consists primarily of tulips, narcissus and hyacinths, there is a small number of fritillaries and crocuses. hortus-bulborum.nl/english

Among the cacophony of spring bulbs, the delicate fritillaries can go unnoticed. The more subdued forms might not stand out from the crowd but they’re worth a closer look. Kneel down beside a clump and with your finger, gently lift one of the pendent, bell-shaped blooms to reveal the intricate pattern inside. The outside of the flower may be muddy green, brown or muted purple but inside the colours are strong and glossy, leading to a cluster of nectaries at the base.

Not all fritillaries are so shy, the main exception is the impressive crown imperial, Fritillaria imperialis. Its leafy stem can reach over a metre in height and is topped with a cluster of large, pendent flowers in shades of orange or yellow. Not surprisingly, there is an expanding range of cultivars available, some with deep-orange to almost red flowers. Yellow Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ is one of the oldest and most reliable cultivars. ‘The Premier’ is a good orange form and ‘William Rex’ has bronzy, orange-red flowers.

There are around 170 species of Fritillaria, found across the Northern Hemisphere. They are bulbous plants that grow in a variety of habitats. The crown imperial, from rocky ground in the mountains of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the western Himalayas, has been cultivated in Europe for more than 350 years. The European Fritillaria meleagris is another familiar garden plant that grows wild in damp meadows, most famously around Magdalen College, Oxford. It is commonly known as the snake’s head fritillary for the scale-like chequered pattern on the petals. This pattern has also been compared to the markings on a Roman dice box and the name Fritillaria comes from fritillus, the Latin for dice box. Fritillaria meleagris has plum flowers but also comes in white. The best plantings have a mixture of both colours in a swathe through fresh green grass, their hanging bells silently quivering in the breeze.

Fritillaries from further south prefer drier conditions, particularly in summer when they are dormant. Given plenty of sunshine and freedraining soil, many will happily grow outside in the garden, including the pretty, short-stemmed F. davisii and taller F. messanensis. These both have greenish or purplish bells, sometimes lightly chequered. Even taller, growing to 40cm or more, is F. pyrenaica, from the Pyrenees. It is suited to lightly dappled shade and is vigorous enough to do well in a border, displaying greenish-brown, chequered flowers that are yellow inside. Tallest of all is Turkish F. persica, which has spires of 20 or more flowers reaching up to 1.5m. The flowers are usually purple but there are greenish-white forms. It rivals F. imperialis in dramatic impact, and can be grown in a sunny border, pushing through newly emerging perennials in spring.

One of the easiest garden species, F. acmopetala, from the eastern Mediterranean, has solitary flowers of pale green, with flashes of deep reddish purple, particularly on the inner three petals. F. elwesii is similar in form and colour but the flowers are longer and narrower and there can be up to three per stem. The most eye-catching species is F. michailovskyi, with broadly bell-shaped, dark brownish-purple flowers, the flared tips dipped in golden yellow. It reaches just 20cm. Twice as tall is the easily grown F. uva-vulpis, with yellow-tipped, dusky purple, almond-shaped flowers.

Robust F. pallidiflora has up to six boxy flowers in creamy green that combine with the wide glaucous leaves to create a ghostly form in a partially shaded border. It adds lightness to a dull corner, unlike the darkest species, F. camschatcensis, which has dark, almost black flowers in its best forms. It is a dramatic and captivating plant for a cool spot in the garden.

If you want some relief from the ubiquity of daffodils and tulips in spring, it may be time to give these beguiling fritillaries a second glance.

• Author Richard Wilford is head of garden design and collection support at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His recommendations for fritillaries continue over the next five pages.

Fritillaria imperialis ‘Argenteovariegata’ The crown imperial is an impressive spring bulb, with a dense cluster of bell-shaped blooms at the top of a sturdy stem. Among the many different cultivars are a few variegated forms, such as this one, which has pale, creamy margins to the leaves. 90cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.

Fritillaria imperialis ‘The Premier’ There are many orangeflowered forms of the crown imperial but in ‘The Premier’ the blooms are a strong mid-orange, sometimes described as tangerine, held on tall dark-coloured stems. 1m. USDA 5a-8b. Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ Grown in gardens since the mid 17th century, the yellow crown imperial has proven its garden worth. The characteristic tuft of leaves sits on top of the cluster of hanging blooms. 90cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b. Fritillaria eduardii This Central Asian species is closely related to, F. imperialis but a little shorter. The orange flowers have delicate veining. It is less tolerant of summer wet than the crown imperial so needs good drainage. 60cm. Fritillaria imperialis ‘William Rex’ The deep orange-red flowers in this old cultivar are held on a stem that is stained purple at the base and between the upper whorl of bright-green, glossy leaves and the flowers. 90cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.

Fritillaria pallidiflora Known as the Siberian fritillary, this beautiful species has relatively large, box-shaped flowers of pale, creamy green and broad, blue-green leaves. Brightens up a shady corner with its ethereal blooms on dark stems. 50cm. AGM*. RHS H5. Fritillaria meleagris The snake’s head fritillary is a plant of damp spring meadows where its square-shouldered, chequered, purple flowers are held on thin, wiry stems. The white form is known as F. meleagris subvar. alba. 30cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b. Fritillaria acmopetala Known as the pointedpetal fritillary, this is a good garden plant that can hold its own in a sunny border if planted as a group. It has a relatively large flower of pale green with dashes and smudges of purple. 40cm. AGM. RHS H4. Fritillaria persica ‘Ivory Bells’ In the wild this variable species has flowers in shades of purple, pale lilac, brownish-yellow or green. ‘Ivory Bells’ has dense spikes of creamy green bells and is one of the more elegant forms. 1m. RHS H4.

Fritillaria pontica These dusky purple and pale-green, bell-shaped flowers are among the most subtly coloured of fritillary flowers. Easy to grow in dappled shade, once established it will naturally increase to form a small clump. 30cm. AGM. RHS H4. Fritillaria michailovskyi The dark-purple flowers look like they have been dipped in a pot of yellow paint. The bell-shaped flowers are yellow inside but you need to crouch to see them or plant them in a raised bed, as they are very small. 20cm. RHS H5, USDA 5a-8b. Fritillaria uva-vulpis Known as the fox’s grape fritillary, this slender plant, which is found from Turkey to Iran, has colours that are similar to those of F. michailovskyi but its stems are taller, and the slim flowers do not flare open at the tip. 45cm. RHS H5. Fritillaria camschatcensis An unusual species that is native to the colder regions of both the Far East and northwest USA. Its broadly bell-shaped flowers are very dark, almost black, and appear in late spring. Needs some shade and moist soil. 30cm.

Fritillaria davisii A short-stemmed species that is native to southern Greece. The brownishpurple, bell-shaped flowers have a slight chequered pattern but inside they are yellow and the chequered pattern is bolder. 15-20cm. RHS H4. Fritillaria elwesii A species from southern Turkey with narrow, almost tubular darkpurple and green, bell-shaped flower. The graceful, subtly coloured soft blooms are held on thin stems above bright-green lance-like leaves.35cm.