I have liked fritillaries ever since first seeing Fritillaria meleagris growing wild in the UK. However I have never considered them to be suitable subjects for growing in our garden here in Cyprus. Yesterday we paid a visit to our friend Michaelis at the Garden centre he runs and saw that he had several pots of a fritillary I had not seen before, Fritillaria uva-vulpis. I was not going to give in to temptation but as we left he gave my wife a bag with 5 pots of them in it.
So, challenge number 1, find out where they come from and what sort of conditions they need.
Not an auspicious start as they apparently come from parts of Turkey, Iran and Iraq where they grow in moist meadows at an altitude of 900-1800 m asl.
Challenge number 2, find a suitable location in our garden to fit their needs. Not so easy when you live at an altitude of 30/40 m asl in a hot, dry climate country.
Anyway, I have planted them and will now attempt to keep them alive, whilst following their progress.