Fritillaria persica seeds

Description

This plant has beautiful ruby purple flowers in racemes of up to 30 flowers on stems which can be up  to 1 m tall. The plant has greyish green leaves . It likes a sunny dry situation which is  partially shaded in the afternoon in hot summer areas, with free draining medium moisture humus rich  soil . Well drained soils are particularly important.   As it is from Turkey Syria and Iran it  can tolerate cold temperatures in winter.

Sowing advice

Place the seed on the top of a pot which has been filled with moistened seed raising mix. Do not cover the seed. Fritillaria seed requires a period of cold (but not freezing) to initiate germination, so the pots can be left outdoors through the winter, in areas which have frosts/snow, until they germinate which is usually in the Spring.

If you live in a region with mild winters, you will need to  to provide the cold period artificially by placing the pots in a plastic bag , seal the plastic bag and place in the fridge door at about 4 degrees centigrade for 2 months. Seeds can sometimes germinate irregularly over a long period, so don’t get impatient if they don’t  sprout immediately, and throw the seeds out prematurely. After the 2 months place outside in a cool light spot.

Check the seed regularly for any germination and remove those that germinate immediately to a bright cool place but not direct sun  .  Keep the seedling watered until they  die down naturally in summer time.  Leave the baby bulbs where they are until the second year before transplanting , as they are very small and hard to handle at first.