Erythronium californicum ‘White Beauty’ is the easiest Dog’s Tooth violet to grow with its white flowers and a yellow centre. It is a classic spring flowering bulb with their Turk’s cap flowers that are an eye catching white. They delight in a humus rich soil either acid or alkaline and are good in dappled shade under deciduous trees in a soil that dries out in Summer. They like growing in similar conditions to Snowdrops, Trilliums and Cyclamen with which they partner quite successfully.
Erythronium revolutum grows about 1 foot tall and has pink flowers. . The colour in this Dog’s Tooth Violet varies and it is worth getting a strongly coloured and vigorous form such as ‘Knightshayes’ Pink’.
Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ is quite a vigorous hybrid which is easily grown with lemon yellow flowers and bronzed foliage. It has large leaf growth and looks a bit untidy after flowering but is amongst the best Dog’s Tooth Violet for trouble free growing. Citronella is another yellow variety to grow for naturalising.
Erythronium Dens Canis (Dog’s Teeth) can be bought in mixtures and are excellent for naturalising given the right conditions of moist partial shade. They tend to be lower growing than the other species mentioned above and are often found in the wild.
If you want to know more about Erythronium they are well covered in Gardening with Woodlands Plants
Read about Sweet Growing Violets
Look at the Violet Group on Flickr
