The flowers of the checkerboard flower show up in an elegant white, pink, red or intense purple. This pretty spring bloomer is one of the protected plants in Germany. One more reason to plant it.
Characteristics
- Plant family: Lily family, Liliaceae
- Botanical name: Fritillaria meleagris
- German names: Schachbrettblume, Kiebitzei, Ordinary Schachblume
- Habit: perennial, upright, loose, spreading, overhanging
- Height: 25-35 cm
- Foliage: green, linear, pointed, with entire margins
- Flowers: bell-shaped, white, pink, red, purple, checkerboard pattern
- Flowering period: April to May
- Limescale tolerance: sensitive to lime
- Toxicity: poisonous
Location requirements
According to its natural habitat, it prefers sunny to partially shaded, rather cool and moist locations. Even on fresh to swampy soils z. B. in a meadow near a body of water, she can stand without any problems. However, the meadow should not be mowed before the seeds are ready at the end of June.
Anything else would be very detrimental to the preservation of the population. The same applies to the fertilization of wet meadows. It would lead to the checkerboard flower being quickly overgrown by other plants. If this plant feels comfortable in one location, it can form dense stands.
Soil condition
The checkerboard flower feels most comfortable on fresh, moist, well-drained and nutrient-rich soils. They should be slightly acidic to neutral. The conditions are ideal on wet meadows and near ponds. If the plant is to be in a bed or in a planter, the soil must be kept moist at all times. Coarse sand should be mixed with clay soils. Commercially available potting soil for flowering plants is suitable for keeping in a tub.
Tip: Even if the checkerboard flower loves damp surfaces, it does not tolerate waterlogging.
planting
You don't always have to buy ready-made plants or wait until you get a checkerboard flower for free. We show how onion planting works and what you should pay attention to.
Planting time and planting depth
Ideally, you plant the onions immediately after buying them, because they dry up relatively quickly. The best time to plant is between August / September and November, but preferably in September because the bulbs are only very
take root slowly. Planting distances of 15-20 cm are recommended so that the bulbs have enough space to form daughter bulbs.Planting instructions
Before planting, it is advisable to loosen the soil as deep as a spade and to remove weeds, stones and root residues. To help the plants grow, you can improve the soil with compost or horn shavings. Then you create the planting holes.
- Plant holes twice as deep as the size of the onion
- Between eight and ten centimeters
- Put a thin layer of sand on the bottom of the planting holes
- Sand protects onions from rotting
- Then put onions
- Fill the planting holes with soil, press the soil into place
- Thoroughly water the planting site
- Do not let the soil dry out at any time
When planting in a tub, attention should be paid to drainage holes and good drainage. Since these plants move in completely after flowering, it is advisable to mark the planting site. In this way you will know where the onions are next spring and you will not be able to accidentally dig them up.
Caution: Checkerboard flowers (Fritillaria meleagris) are poisonous in all parts of the plant, especially the bulb. It is better not to plant them in areas where there are small children.
Care instructions
It is definitely worthwhile to leave a spot free for Fritillaria meleagris in the garden at home, especially since it has become rare in the great outdoors. It has proven to be extremely easy to care for, robust and undemanding.
Watering and fertilizing
- Keep the soil evenly moist all year round
- Even after the sheets have moved in
- Little or no watering at all in generally moist locations
- Water regularly and more frequently in normal garden soil
- Watering specimens in the bucket is the most common
- Substrate in the bucket dries out quickly
As far as the nutritional requirements of checkerboard flowers are concerned, it is usually sufficient to give the common chess flower a dose of compost in the spring. During flowering, potted plants are given a liquid fertilizer for flowering plants every two weeks.
Cut
Cutting measures like most
other plants are not necessary here, on the contrary. The stems and leaves should stand until they are completely withered. As long as there are still green parts of the plant, the onion draws out valuable nutrients and stores them. In this way, it creates important energy reserves for winter and budding in the next year.Overwinter
The chess bed flower grows perennial and has good winter hardiness. She copes with very rough winters. It tolerates temperatures of up to minus thirty degrees. As a result, it can hibernate outdoors without any protection. On the other hand, drought is dangerous even in winter. If there is no protective snow cover, there is a risk of freezing if there is severe frost at the same time.
The onions cannot absorb moisture from the frozen ground and must therefore be watered on frost-free days. The irrigation water should definitely be cold, otherwise it could happen that the onions sprout prematurely. Specimens in the bucket are somewhat more endangered; they cannot do without winter protection and watering.
Tip: After a successful hibernation is the best time to repot potted plants. This should generally be done every two to three years.
Multiply
If you already have a checkerboard flower, you can use it to grow other plants. We show what possibilities there are for the propagation of checkerboard flowers and how to implement them.
sowing
Basically, this plant will self-complete when the seeds fall on fertile soil. You can of course also sow or sow them by hand. multiply. Seeds for sowing can be purchased or harvested from existing plants.
As soon as the triple seed pods are ripe on the plant, between May and June, they are cut off. The seeds, which are considered to be cold germs, then have to be subjected to a cold treatment.
Stratify
- Remove the seeds from the capsules
- Put in freezer bags with some damp sand
- Seal the bag, not too tight
- Store in a warm place for about two weeks
- At temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees
- Then close the bag tightly and refrigerate for four to six weeks
- Temperatures now between zero and five degrees
- Do not let the sand dry out in the bag
- Sow seeds at the end of the cold treatment
sowing
- Sow directly or in seed trays
- Thoroughly loosen the soil at the sowing point
- Earth should be fine crumbly
- Mix the seeds with commercially available potting soil
- Spread over a wide area at 18-20 degrees
- Cover thinly with soil
- Then moisten the soil
- Cover the seed trays with translucent foil
- Remove cover daily for ventilation
- Put in a light and warm place
- Avoid direct sunlight
- Soil or Keep the substrate evenly moist
As soon as the seedlings are about ten centimeters tall, they can be separated, in small pots or directly in the bed. If the sowing does not take place in spring, but in autumn, the plants should overwinter frost-free.
Tip: Because of the stratification, sowing is quite time-consuming and time-consuming. Usually only about 50 percent of the seeds go
on.Brooding onions
Another and relatively simple method of propagation is with bulbs. They form on the side of the mother onion. After the plants have moved in, the bulbs are dug up and the brood bulbs removed, if possible without damaging them or the mother onion. The mother onion is replanted directly. Since the small bulbs dry out very quickly, they should also be planted on the spot at the appropriate depth. Finally water well again.
Onion scales
Like all lily plants, the bulb of the chess bed flower has a scale-like structure. This enables propagation via onion scales. The best time for this form of propagation has come when the plants have moved in.
- Carefully dig up the onion
- Depending on the size, pull off four to six outer scales
- Leave a small piece of the onion base on each scale
- Sprinkle any injuries on the mother onion with charcoal powder
- Put the mother onion straight back into the ground
- Then fill small pots with potting soil
- Put the onion scales about halfway into the substrate
- Put a translucent plastic bag over the pots
- Place in a partially shaded place
- Keep the substrate slightly moist and ventilate regularly
- Optimal germination temperatures around 20 degrees
- First flowers after three to five years
As soon as the onion scales have roots and, at best, small bulbs, they can be transplanted. Or you can simply cover them with soil so that only a small tip peeks out. The whole thing is then put in a cool place about five degrees and outdoors in the following spring. In late summer, the bulbs should be vigorous enough to be planted in their final location in the garden.
Diseases and pests
Onion rot
Onion rot is usually caused by too much moisture. Even if the checkerboard flower needs a lot of water, it does not like waterlogging. The plants quickly become weak and turn yellow. Usually a putrid smell can also be made out. The checkerboard flowers can then no longer be saved.
Snails
A common problem is snails, and of different species. They are often attracted to the damp environment. To protect the plants, you should regularly check them for signs of eating and consistently remove existing snails.
Lily Chicken
Sometimes the lily chicken feeds on the leaves of the checkerboard flower, where it can cause massive damage. You can easily spot them by their bright red shield. To control it, you should read the adult beetles regularly and rinse the plants thoroughly in order to catch their larvae as well. Spreading rock flour or dry coffee grounds can also be helpful.
Voles
Voles can cause particularly great damage. If they are discovered, it is usually too late. Combating it is quite difficult. It should be most promising from autumn to spring. At this time they can no longer find so much in the garden and accept bait all the better. Probably the only effective remedy are vole traps, which can be bought in abundance in stores. As a rule, however, you need more than just one trap in order to be able to equip every active aisle with it.
