One of the earliest bulbous plants to pop up in the garden is Fritillaria verticillata, also known as Fritillaria thunbergii. This Central Asian native has no problem starting to grow while low temperatures are still in the teens F. The leaves form hooks at the end in case climbing on a neighbor is needed. Within a couple of weeks, the clump are topped with terminal white flowers. As soon as flowering is finished, the above ground part of this spring ephemeral goes dormant until next January.
