Crown imperial

* Common name: Crown imperial

* Botanical name: Fritillaria imperialis

* What it is: A tall, eye-grabbing, May-blooming bulb that produces hefty flower stalks that produce crown-like clusters of hanging yellow, red or burnt-orange flowers. Looks like something Dr. Seuss created. Bulbs are winter-hardy and return to bloom for years. Deer, voles and rabbits don’t bother them.

* Size: 3 feet tall. Plant bulbs 1 foot apart.

* Where to use: Plant in clusters of at least 3 to 5 in border beds, perennial gardens and along sunny walks or patios. Makes an excellent oddball plant in a children’s garden. Full sun is best, and well drained soil is a must. Consider raised beds.

* Care: Plant in October. Scatter an organic, granular bulb fertilizer over the bed early each spring and ensuing fall. Cut off flower stalks when blooms fade but wait until foliage browns or at least yellows before cutting it. Leaves die back by early summer. Water not needed, especially when crown imperials are dormant in summer.

* Great partners: Interplant with late tulips – other spring bulbs that bloom at the same time. Or insert dahlia tubers as bloom winds down; they’ll take over the space and bloom later in the season. Deutzia and viburnums are shrubs that bloom white at the same time. Dwarf Hinoki cypress and junipers are good evergreen partners.