Erythronium des-canis ‘Purple King’ – ‘European Dog’s-tooth-violet’ – Dog’s-tooth Violet – Trout Lily – Fawn Lily –

Description

Erythronium – Dog’s-tooth Violet – Trout Lily – Fawn Lily – There are about 22 species of clump forming perennials, with long pointed, toothed like bulbs, in this genus. They occur in habitats ranging from deciduous woodland to open mountain meadows in Eurasia and North America. From spring to early summer, slender, upright stems carry delicate 1-10 pendent star shaped flowers, usually 1 1/4-2 ½” across, in shades of purple, violet, pink, yellow, or white, each with conspicuous stamens and 6 pointed, recurved tepals. They produces broadly elliptic to ovate-elliptic, paired usually semi erect, basal leaves, 1 1/4-14″ long, are glossy to glaucous, mid to dark green, in some species heavily marbled bronze. Grow in clump under deciduous tree and shrubs, or in a rock garde, or naturalized in then grass. Plant bulbs at least 4″ deep in autumn, in fertile,, humus rich, well drained soil that does not dry out, in light, dappled or partial shade. Divide establish clumps after flowering. Prone to rust, smuts, slugs, and fungal spots. E. des-canis ‘Purple King’ – ‘European Dog’s-tooth-violet’ – This species is the most widely grown. It is a bulbous perennial from Europe and Asia and grows 4-8″ tall and 4″ wide. It produces oval, mid green leaves, 4-6″ long, marbled purplish brown. In spring it bears solitary, rich plum-colored flowers, to 2″ across, with white and brown stripes in the centers. Zones 3-9