Erythronium (genus, "Kibanakatakuri")

Japanese name: キバナカタクリ
Scientific name: Erythronium

[Overview]
A perennial with an underground bulb.
The bulb sinks deep into the ground through the pulling action of the roots.
Plants that bear flowers produce 2 oblong to ovate leaves.
The flower opens facing downward, nodding, at the tip of a flower stalk that rises from the bulb.
The flower is yellow with 6 petals, and the tepals curve backward.
The fruit is a capsule.
Before summer the aboveground parts die back and the plant goes dormant.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division of bulbs.
Keep it in a cool place that is sunny from winter through the flowering period, and becomes bright shade after the leaves begin to wither.
If planted in the ground, under deciduous trees is good.
It prefers soil that is rich in organic matter and well drained, and because the bulb sinks deep, plant it in a deep pot.
For potted plants, from sprouting through the time when leaves are present water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, and after the leaves fall water only enough to keep the soil from drying out completely.
For plants in the ground, no watering is particularly needed.
In autumn place slow-release fertilizer on the soil, and from autumn until the leaves wither apply diluted liquid fertilizer once a week.
Rust can occur.

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