Erythronium parviflorum

At a glance

Exposure: Partial shade
Frost limit: −28.9 °C

Cultivation

Prefers slightly acid soil conditions but succeeds in chalky soils if these contain plenty of humus. Not an easy plant to grow in cultivation in Britain. It is best in a well-drained soil that is wet in spring but rather dry in the summer. Flowers are produced in 3 - 4 years from seed. Bulbs should be planted about 7cm deep. Closely related to E. grandiflorum and considered to be no more than part of that species by some botanists.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame. Water lightly in summer, it should germinate in autumn or winter. Sow as early in spring as possible in a cold frame. Sow the seed thinly so that it will not be necessary to prick them out for their first year of growth. Give an occasional liquid feed to the seedlings to make sure that they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants are dormant, pot up the small bulbs putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on in a shady position in the greenhouse for another 2 3 years and then plant them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant in late summer. Division of the bulbs in the summer as the leaves die down. Larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up smaller bulbs and grow them on in a shady position in a greenhouse for a year before planting them out when dormant in late summer.

Edible uses

Bulb - raw or cooked.

Habitat

Sagebrush and montane forest, almost up to the tree line.

Native range

N. America.