THE SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY - Fritillaria meleagris |The Garden of Eaden

THE SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY - Fritillaria meleagris

The Snake's head Fritillary is a darling amongst late spring bulbs but it happens to be a bit of an oddity. Despite its exotic appearance this intractably patterned plant is a native to Great Britain and unlike most bulbs – whose natural habitats tend to be nutrient poor soils with low moisture availability – this species prefers the damp environments of traditional meadows and pastures.

Botanical illustration of Fritillaria meleagris

THE SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY - Fritillaria meleagris

Up until the beginning of the 20th century, meadows of fritillaries were common place around Britain but many of these areas were seriously affected during the “Ploughing for Victory” campaign of the Second World War. In an attempt to further increase food production much of our boggy pasture-land was drained for agricultural use and this significantly reduced the overall number of sites which could support these beautiful plants.

Today there are only three sites remaining - notably in Oxfordshire - where you can still find the Snake’s Head fritillary in its natural habitat.

Although now a protected species and rarely found in the wild the Snake's head Fritillary is readily available from cultivated stock either as bulbs in late autumn or as pot grown stock in the spring. In the garden they are tolerant of most soil types so long as they are kept moist.

However, if you intend to naturalise them you should try for a neutral to slightly alkaline soil in a sunny or partially shaded position. If the soil is too free draining add plenty of humus such as leaf mould, but the most important condition that is required for successful naturalisation is to not allow them to dry out over the spring and summer period.

Under favourable conditions you can expect the Snake's head fritillary to grows between 15–40 cm in height. The blooms appear from March to May and have a characteristically chequered pattern in shades of purple; although some individual specimens can have pure white flowers. The greyish-green leaves lance-shaped appearing in the spring until mid-summer.

If you are growing Snake's head Fritillary from bulbs then you should get them in the ground as soon as possible - before the worst of the winter weather arrives. Plant them to a depth of approximately 4-5 inches, again adding plenty of humus. The delicately purple, pink and white chequered flowers - which are both hermaphrodite and self-fertile - should appear from April to May on stems of around 12 inches high.

Main image - Attribution: Sten Porse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
In text image - Johann Georg Sturm public domain

For further reading on native plants click onto:
Dracunculus vulgaris - The Dragonlily
HOW TO GROW THE CROWN IMPERIAL LILY
HOW TO GROW THE FOXTAIL LILY
HOW TO GROW FRITILLARIA IMPERIALIS FROM SEED
HOW TO GROW THE SNAKE'S HEAD FRITILLARY - Fritillaria meleagris
HOW TO PLANT LILY BULBS
How to Grow Native Wild Primroses and Polyanthus from Seed