Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris. This plant has many names including Snake’s Head (the original English name), Chess Flower, Frog-cup, Guinea-hen Flower, Guinea Flower, Leper Lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus Bell, Chequered Lily, Chequered Daffodil, Drooping Tulip or, in northern Europe, simply Fritillary.
The flower has a chequered pattern in shades of purple, or is sometimes pure white.
This plant thrives in moist, well-drained soils and is especially suited to areas that mimic its natural habitat—damp grasslands, woodland edges, and riversides. It prefers full sun to partial shade and benefits from soil that remains moist throughout the growing season, particularly in spring. Once established, it naturalises well, gently spreading over time to form drifts of colour that return year after year.
Snakeshead Fritillary is ideal for wildflower gardens, cottage-style planting schemes, or under deciduous trees where it can enjoy dappled light. Its early blooms provide an important nectar source for pollinators like bees. Gardeners often use it to soften the edges of borders, bring life to grassy areas, or to create a serene, woodland feel.
To grow successfully, plant the bulbs in autumn about 10cm deep and 10cm apart in fertile, humus-rich soil. Ensure the soil doesn’t dry out in spring, though avoid waterlogging in winter. It performs best in loamy or clay soils with good organic matter and tolerates a range of pH levels.
The Snakeshead Fritillary makes a real difference by offering early-season interest and supporting biodiversity. Its quietly striking appearance makes it a great choice for gardeners seeking subtle charm and ecological value.
Flowering Season: March – May
Flower Colour: Purple, occasionally White
Size
Bulb Size: 5/6cm
Height: 10-50cm
Spread: 0-10cm
Time to reach full height: 2-5 years
Growing Conditions
Soil Type: Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Moist but well drained
Position
How much sun: Full sun, Partial shade
Aspect: North, East, South, West
Snakeshead Fritillary – Planting Information
Winter Planting Bulbs – Planting Time: Early Autumn (September / October).
Pre Sprouted Bulbs – Planting Time: Early Spring (as soon as possible after delivery).
Plant Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) 12cm (5in) deep in fertile, well-drained soil, taking care not to damage the fragile bulbs. Also a little sand or gravel in the hole for good drainage if possible. Can take one to two years to flower after replanting.
Bulbs should be planted as soon as possible after delivery.
Delivery Information
Winter planted bulbs are despatched in September onwards. This item will be despatched as soon as stock is available.
Pre-Sprouted bulbs are available from February 2025 until March 2025. This item will be despatched as soon as stock is available.
All Plants, Bulbs and Seeds are despatched separately from other items and may arrive on a different day via a different carrier.
These bulbs were grown in the UK from cultivated stock.
Your Delivery
Turf Online aims to give its customers the best possible experience by delivering the best quality products for sale in the UK. Therefore, all our perishable products are harvested fresh to order the day before delivery!
Delivery charges and services vary by different types of turf and delivery location. Charges are confirmed at checkout before payment. If your order includes grass turf, topsoil, Wildflower Turf or Sedum mats, you can choose your delivery day. You should arrange for live products to be delivered on the day you will lay them. Reducing the amount of time the product is stored means significantly less potential nuisance when it comes to installation; certain issues will not have had a chance to rise. All other products are delivered within 5 working days (or usually sooner!).
How Is Your Product Delivered?
We recommend that you only make arrangements for tradespeople to carry out work on your behalf after your turf or other products have been delivered.
PLEASE NOTE: Turf, Wildflower Turf, Sedum Mats and bulk Bag products are delivered on a pallet and can only be delivered to the kerbside.
Most of our products for sale in the UK will be delivered by being transported by a pallet courier that primarily uses 18-tonne rigid trucks that are built for reaching the majority of UK addresses. However, it is possible that your delivery could be made on a larger vehicle. If access or other restrictions prevent vehicles above a certain size reaching your address, or there are other offloading or parking restrictions which could affect the delivery, let us know in the delivery notes section of checkout so that special delivery arrangements can be made. Please make sure you double check the delivery postcode and address carefully as after your order has been shipped, it is likely we will not be able to make any amendments to your order or address.
Delivery is unloaded using a manual pallet trolley which is lowered to the road by the tail lift on the truck. Unfortunately, we do not offer Hiab (truck-mounted crane) deliveries. To offload the pallet, the surface must be flat and level. Since Turf, Wildflower Turf, Sedum and topsoil can be heavy, and the pallet trolley pulled by the driver has small wheels, pallets cannot be delivered onto soil, grass or gravel – a tarmac or paved surface is required.
Kerbside delivery means that our products for sale in the UK is delivered as close as possible to the delivery address you provide. Our helpful drivers will do their best to place your delivery where you wish, such as a driveway, but this is at their discretion. If your delivery address is hard to find or the property is a new build, consider using what3words to pinpoint your delivery location. More information on what3words can be found in our Help Centre.
For more information on how The Pallet Network delivers our different types of products, please watch this short video.
What Issues Could Arise With Delivery?
If your product delivery cannot be made due to a reason you failed to make us aware of, the full cost of distribution and products will still be charged to you. We are proud that most of our turf deliveries arrive on time. Sometimes, circumstances beyond our control (extreme weather, road accidents, vehicle breakdowns or IT failures) can delay delivery, but we will make every effort to keep you updated in such an event.
