11/22/2025
Fritillaria imperialis
This is a photo the one that sprouted. But the Fritillaria imperialis perished before blooming. The potting medium I used was a good quality soilless mix, but it was not good enough.
I’ve tried to grow Fritillaria imperialis many times. I got as far as getting one of them to put out some vegetation, but then it died before did it bloom. So this year I decided to do a creative experiment and use bonsai soil. Bonsai soil isn’t really soil, it’s like tiny rocks. The most important thing about using a bonsai soil for plants that require perfect drainage (such as the bonsai) is all the particles in the mix need to be uniform to create fast drainage. When you have a combination of tiny particles and large particles together the tiny particles fill the holes in the container creating a trap that water is more likely to remain.
I’ve never seen a Fritillaria Imperialis other than the one that I managed to sprout. Like Bigfoot they’re reported to exist but yet having never seen one, I still can’t believe that it’s truly possible to grow one.
I learned that they may sometimes have them at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis at the Ottoman garden. What I’m most interested in is seeing them in bloom because the bloom is reported to have a skunk like smell. I have never seen them Missouri Botanical Garden I don’t know if they have them every year or if they bloom every year or if they’ve removed them at this point because they’re so difficult to grow. I’m sure they wouldn’t like Missouri soil which is mostly clay.
Whenever I get the bulbs they always have that interesting musky smell. But I don’t see it as skunk like; I see it as pleasant. I assume the smell attracts certain pollinators.
If they do bloom I’ll be sure to get lots of pictures and video. Unfortunately I can’t also save the fragrance. I wonder if it really will attract skunks to my garden that would be kind of fun. Skunks are great animals they eat all kinds of insects. They’re great for the environment. They can barely see they’re almost blind so they’re not going to attack you you should not be afraid of them. The skunk has very small eyes and uses its sense of smell and hearing to navigate.
So check back with me in the summer for an update and meanwhile you can look at this fantastic link I found which tells you everything about the plant including all the different subtypes.
Macy Makes Magic 