I have a crinum that I need to move and this time I want to be sure I put it in the right place.LOL They are a bugger to dig up. I want to put it someplace where it grow and spread and not bother anything or anybody. At the back of my lot I have two crepe myrtles and I would like to know if they would be good companions for crinums. I guess I'm more worried about the crinums with their huge bulbs causing a problem for the crepe myrtles.
crepe myrtles and crinums?
I have a dickens of a time growing things in my crape myrtle bed. I have four large ones (trees) and their roots are all over the bed. It makes it very hard to dig a hole. Not ony are crinum bulbs large, but they like water too. The crape myrtle roots take up the water, and they take up the space too. I had ginger and ferns there and they just disappeared. I have another bed with smaller crape myrtles (tall, but skinny) and I have been growing lantana there. It seems to do OK. Maybe it depends on how long the crapes have been there and how substantial their root system is. I don't think you would hurt the crapes, but I'm just not sure the crinum would be happy.
We planted one crepe myrtle last spring and the other one about 4 years ago.
I have another spot in my yard with crepe myrtles and I planted Katy Dwarf Ruellia, Dwarf barbados cherry and rock rose. They are all doing well, but they are atleast 3-4 feet away from the crepes.
I have a couple I got at a plant swap and when I read about the Crinum, decided to put them in my pond. I left it in a container though so I can control the roots. They are "high moisture plants, suitable for bogs or water gardens". It seems to me I remember you sharing pictures, etc. of a pond on the TG forum. If you do have one, why not try them there?
Sheila
Hsfrank, well I never thought of putting a crinum in a pond. But I will keep that in mind when we get the next pond ready. The pond we have now is only 4 x 8 feet and 12 inches deep. When we do the next one it will have a large bog space next to it. Possibly we could put it in there. That's a really interesting idea. Thanks, I like unconventional ideas.
Silver, I have a lot of crinums in my yard, and I threw a couple of them, no pots, only roots and leaves, in my smaller water garden tub, just to keep them wet until I replanted them....well, I never got to them, and voila! they have grown just fine and dandy in only water....
The large ones (in ground) need full sun to bloom, so maybe under the crepe myrtles isn't such a great idea? Depending on your variety, they also can get quite large.
MerryMary
Crapes work very well with little water, whereas the crunums need water. Maybe think about lantana under the crapes as they need very little water (don't even like too much of it) and they should have a long and happy life together.
I have a ring of bromeliads around my crepe myrtles. Both can survive dryer conditions with occasional rains, and the broms dont have deep roots...
MerryMary
I think I got a Crinum at the Dallas plant . I am not sure thats what this is, but it no where near any water. if I didnt know any better I would think its a Canna. Shelia is it a possibility you gave me one? Its a stalk of some kind with a big root.lol hmmm maybe Mitch will know.
Sylvia
Yep that is a Crinum - Sylvia brought us those to the swap. I have a few in the ground right now but I think I am going to try one in the pond next year!
Mitch is right Sylvia, you got that at the Veteran's Park Dallas swap. In fact, I ended up with two of them. I couldn't remember who had them, since it was my first time meeting everyone! LOL! But I looked them up and they are a bog plants. I pulled mine out of the pond this week when I put a net over it to keep the leaves out. I potted them up, hopefully they will do well until early spring and I will put them back in the pond.
Sheila