Crinum Lily Blooms

Does anyone have any tricks to get Crinum Lilies to bloom? I love them, but am not having any luck with blooms. I have one that has been in the ground three years and others two years. They seem large enough to me that they should be blooming by now.

how deep do you have them planted? Ours are about 6-8" and they bloom without fail. There are 2 schools of thought on how deep to plant them, but I've never had a problem having them deep.

I'm with tiG. The bulbs can get enormous and if they push out of the ground they become susceptable to all kind of problems. Most of mine are in an outside border alongside the greenhouse and get protection in Winter. Only time I got good flowers from "shallow" planting was when growing them in pots.

El Tel

Do they get enough sun? Also, mine are in sandy soil and seem to do much better if they get extra water prior to blooming season (May-June around here.)

hi all

I have them too and they flower every year without fail. they face south to get as much sun as possible. as far as i know it's the amount of good sunlight that matters most.

Mark

Thanks for all your input. I do have them planted deep (I had heard about that before) and they do get morning sun, so I guess I'll just be a little more patient! Sometimes, I think anticipation is a big part of the fun of gardening.

I've read that moving or transplanting can set them back. I've been very fortunate that mine never blink, but maybe that's it. How big are your bulbs?

tig, I have wondered if they are big enough yet. The foliage is not as big as some I've seen, so I may be rushing them. Thanks for your comments. Do you use any certain fertilizer? I've heard they like to be fed, but I'm not sure with what.

Flowering size bulbs should be about 2-3" across, otherwise they are too small to produce flowers. I also agree with tiG - once they are in situ resist the tempatation to move them - they dont like it.

El Tel

:) been real lucky. They are one of the things that doesn't get fed. They are 20-25 year old bulbs. I've divided them once, and plan to move them this fall. Wish me luck!!! :)

tiG,

That's brave, and without a safety net too !!! Only time I tried it was dig them out of the border inside the greenhouse to put them the other side of the glass (they just got too [profanity removed]ed BIG). They took a couple of years to recover and flower again. Curiously, the small ones I put in a pot did better (probably stressed for lack of root room), but rapidly made some good sized flowering bulbs.

El Tel

These came from my late father-in-laws house. We planted them here 19 years ago, and for the first 3 years, they didn't do anything. I looked them up and told my husband I was going to plant them deeper. I thought he was going to have a stroke. He swore that if they didn't bloom again, he wouldn't ever forgive me. I'm always one for a dare:)
They bloomed like crazy for about 11 or so years, and then I told him I was going to divide them, and got the same threat:) I even divided them in the spring, but I prayed real hard. They always bloom here around Father's Day, and he watched and watched. I prayed and prayed:) They bloomed better than ever. So this year I'm talking about moving them and dividing again, and he said 'yeah, they sure need it' !! LOL!!

Bulbldady, my first crinums came from someone who had moved them to more sun after years of not blooming, they bloomed the next summer. the two largest bulbs he gave me bloomed 3-4 MONTHS after i planted them.
i got more at a yard sale around april/may and the two largest of those bloomed in 2-3 MONTHS.
The people i have talked with who had trouble with them blooming blamed it on not enough sun, moved and they bloomed the next season, and planting too deep. it may have taken three years, tig, for yours to bloom as they were working their way up in the soil.

and then again, it may depend on the type of crinums, seems like a large family