Prefers cool places, in short grass, under shrubs, deciduous trees or even the shady side of a cedar hedge. May be the most shade-tolerant bulb but also performs well in sun if the soil is not too dry. Amazingly hardy and an excellent naturalizer. Very prolific, can form great drifts. Lightly scented; beloved by bees. See if you can glimpse bees filling up on this blue pollen!
6–8" tall. Early Spring blooms, Z2-8. 7-8cm bulbs.
The Royal General Bulbgrowers Association in Holland (Koninklijke Algemeene Vereeniging voor Bloembollencultuur, or KAVB) puts this large group of diverse flowers into a boring catch-all category: Miscellaneous Bulbs. The expensive catalogs call them specialty or accent bulbs; some call them minor or dwarf bulbs (even though some of the fritillaries are huge!); Louise Beebe Wilder covered most of them in her 1936 classic Adventures with Hardy Bulbs. Whatever you call them, most are uncommonly sweet, delicate, colorful, and completely welcome in spring.
See also: bulb planting information and bulb planting charts.
