Crown Imperial Lutea (Fritillaria imperialis 'Lutea') - yellow flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Crown Imperial Lutea

Fritillaria imperialis 'Lutea'

Crown Imperial Lutea blooms from April through May.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Apr–May
not yet checked
Hardiness
Zones 5–8
not yet checked
Sun
Full sun
not yet checked
Water
Moderate water
not yet checked
Mature size
3 ft × 1 ft
not yet checked
Type
Bulb
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Crown Imperial Lutea

Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 3 ft tall and 1 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (not yet checked).

Verification
What this means

Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.

When to plant Crown Imperial Lutea

Crown Imperial Lutea is a fall-planted bulb: get it in the ground 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes, typically September or October in zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8. It pays you back the following April to May.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in September. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Crown Imperial Lutea get?

Illustration of Crown Imperial Lutea drawn to scale beside an adult3 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1 ftwide
About 3 ft tall and 1 ft wide at maturity: waist-high beside an adult.

See Crown Imperial Lutea in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

Good to know about Crown Imperial Lutea

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.

Safety

The bulb is poisonous: it holds toxic steroidal alkaloids and can cause stomach upset if eaten. Handle it as a toxic bulb and never eat it. per NC State

The Fritillaria group

One of 6 in the Fritillaria group. Same genus, similar care.

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