"The Gardener's Guide to Growing Fritillaries"

[Darren]

Paul - I don't have a copy but I have been told that whilst it is useful for ID purposes it has a somewhat eccentric approach to cultivation techniques, which are not consistent with the usual methods in the UK. But then as I grow frits rather poorly using the accepted methods there is clearly some scope for experimentation!

[Tony Willis]

Many years ago I went to a talk by one of the authors who having never seen a frit in the wild  told us they were all deep growing bulbs at least 18 inches below the surface so deep planting was essential!

From what I understand from a botanical friend the naming was outdated and contains numerous synonyms which are used but not cross referenced and as a reference work quite useless.I cannot comment on this aspect but looking at the present as far as I can see nothing changes there.

[Gerry Webster]

If you appreciate bizarre suggestions on cultivation (e.g., F. pluriflora requires a compost that is "wet & almost like modelling clay in winter") & idiosyncratic nomenclature (e.g., F. bithynica carica) then this is the book for you.

One of the authors had previously produced a little booklet (self-published & showing no evidence of sub-editing) containing equally interesting suggestions, e.g., "avoid clay pots".

[Paul Cumbleton]

Martyn Rix has been working on a Fritillaria book for many years but there was never any indication of when if ever he would complete it. However, with his recent acceptance of the offer of help from some mebers of the Fritillaria Group, we are more hopeful that it may actually be taking a step towards publication. Having seem some sections of the text I think it will be well worth the long wait

Paul

[Gerry Webster]

Martyn Rix has been working on a Fritillaria book for many years but there was never any indication of when if ever he would complete it. However, with his recent acceptance of the offer of help from some mebers of the Fritillaria Group, we are more hopeful that it may actually be taking a step towards publication. Having seem some sections of the text I think it will be well worth the long wait
Paul

I think the book on frits was initiated at the same time as Brian Mathew's crocus book & the paintings of frits by Joanna Langhorne were  completed years ago.  So, in principle,  that is good news Paul.  However, I have to say that I am not holding my breath, not least because in the current economic climate it would be a very brave publisher who would produce such a book with its inevitably limited sales. 

[gote]

Paul - I don't have a copy but I have been told that whilst it is useful for ID purposes it has a somewhat eccentric approach to cultivation techniques, which are not consistent with the usual methods in the UK. But then as I grow frits rather poorly using the accepted methods there is clearly some scope for experimentation!

Any advice on cultivation techniques must be taken cum grano salis because:
The growers idiosyncrasies as to watering, repotting, topdressing etc. etc. etc. are different.
The climate is different. Temperature and length of winter is different. amount of sunlight and rain is different. temperature and length of summer is different.
the soil ingrediences are different even if the have the same name.
And
And
And.
What works for you wil not necessarily work for me and vice versa.
Göte

[gote]

It seems to me that a big problem in gardening books is that the author has personal experience of a limited number of plants but wants the book to be complete. He/she then turns to other books to fill the gap. Unfortunately the authors of these also have no personal experience but have groped back to.....
This way, advice creeps in that is based not on experience but on philosophical ideas about how "MOTHER NATURE works her mysterious ways".
Another source of fallacy is the uncritical adoption of data from natural growing situations.
Hepatica nobilis grows in dark places. True but not because a lighter place is not better but because there is less competition in the dark.
I think there is nothing we can do about this except buying more than one book and by experimenting and by discussing in fora as this one.
Göte
 
 

[Pascal B]

Göte, very true. It is not even confined to gardening books or the so-called monographs but also many Flora's seem to be enumerations of previous publications. Very few books on specific genera are "complete". The best books usually cover a small genus. I very much doubt we will ever get "complete" books on bigger genera like Lilium, Arisaema, Asarum or Fritrilaria for that matter, at least if it is written by only 1 or 2 people without input from other experts on the genus, simply because it takes several lifetimes to see all species of bigger genera in the wild, study their variation, grow all of them etc.... And yes, cultivation very much depends on the local growing conditions so unless the experiences of other knowledgeable growers are covered in a book and you get a good overview of varying growing techniques, any guideline in a book for growing these plants is of little value.

Most books are best efforts and you have to combine the knowledge of several sources to learn the most about specific genera, fora like the SRGC-forum are usually of more value than the best books simply because it is hands-on experience instead of guesswork by the author because he was not enough familiar with some species the book covers.
Combine all information you can find, books, internet, whatever and make up one's own mind I would say.

[David Pilling]

It's a bit like people saying "warm" and "cold", my warm is not the same as yours. The answer is to quote temperatures. But then you come to things like "bright" and "dark" - I've never seen anyone quote a brightness value - lumens? Even then single values are not the whole story. I imagine a small box that attached to a plant will record temperature, brightness and soil humidity for a year - put the results up on the web and we might learn something.

I'd think Ian's bulblogs would be a good place to learn how to grow frits. No one needs a publisher anymore - just stick the document on the web, but Amazon have a scheme that lets you upload your book to their web site and they split the profits with you (for electronic book readers, Kindle etc.).

Then there's the Pacific Bulb Society wiki, everyone is welcome to add information, the web lets expertise be pooled and all that. But the reality is that few people are prepared to join in, one reason is that it is so hard to get even a few words correct.

[Maggi Young]

I think that the reason Ian's Bulb Log is so popular is that he decribes in detail what he observes of the growth of his bulbs. When one knows what the plant is doing at any given time then it is easier to try to adjust one's regime to accommodate the plant's requirements, whatever your local conditions are.
 Diane Clement in her Midland Gardener's Diary does a similar thing.... she shows WHY she does things as well as HOW...... in depth info is always a winner!