Persian fritillary
Fritillaria persica ·
A tall spire of up to thirty nodding bells of dusky plum-purple, with a grape-like bloom, above twisted, grey-green leaves.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around persian fritillary
The planner designed this bed around persian fritillary when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why persian fritillary stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Common thyme × 9, lavender
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 24, pink
- 3 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Betony 'Hummelo' × 3, purple
- 7 Persian fritillary × 3, purple
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are dense clusters, flat plates, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is seen over common thyme (10 in) in front of it.
- 3 plants in 3 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (lavender, pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them. The front edge is finished with common thyme and sedum 'Lidakense'.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where persian fritillary goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
A sombre, stately bulb to rise through pale tulips. It needs sun, sharp drainage and a dry summer rest, and should be planted on its side so that water does not sit in the bulb.
- A dark spire among spring bulbs
- Gravel gardens
- Dramatic contrast with pale tulips
What to plant with persian fritillary
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Tulip: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Grape hyacinth: in flower together for three weeks, from late April; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about persian fritillary
Does persian fritillary need sun or shade?
Persian fritillary grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does persian fritillary grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does persian fritillary flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should persian fritillary be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many persian fritillary plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in three groups.
Is persian fritillary poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. The bulbs are poisonous if eaten raw.
Is there a pet-safe plant like persian fritillary?
These come closest to doing what persian fritillary does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Spotted bee balm: the same job in a bed; 12 in shorter, flowers mid July to early September.
- Blazing star: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid July to mid August, fine leaves, not medium.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What can I plant to hide persian fritillary's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Peony: 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide, in flower late May to late June.
- Daylily: 2½ ft tall and 24 in wide, in flower late June to early August.
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
What does persian fritillary look like in winter?
Persian fritillary is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Fritillaria
- Checkered lily Fritillaria meleagris
- Crown imperial Fritillaria imperialis
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; hanging bells; purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; grey-green, blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.