Crinium Lilies

Quite a way from Cherokee. Prob 5 hours from here barring traffic issues. Actually if you google directions to Raleigh, NC you'll be right here. Keep up with those pennies;)

Ok I will. DH said we had better be saving more than pennies LOL. Am really going to try and see if we can get down there. Would make an excellent short Vacation for us.

That would be great! It will be a bit before I post about the ru, but I'll make sure that you see it:)

Thanks I'll be watching !!!! LOL

I think you are mentioning the Crinum asiaticum which is indeed lovely. How about some of the variety grown naturally here in South Africa. I have 3 varieties in my garden and could let you have seed later in the year. They do take time to flower. I will look up some pics to send here. I do have bulbs of Crinum moraea, very large down to year old which are like eggs at this time.

Thanks would appreciate the seed . I have a couple of criniums now and they are the giants . They haven't bloomed and most likely won't this year, I don't know that much about them except that they are gorgeous.

Carolyn

keriblu and anyone else - I have not had much luck in getting any of my crinums to bloom. What's the secret? some of the bulbs are over 6 yrs old.

Some of them are quite stubborn. My Hannibal's Dwarf is. I think it generally wants more water than it gets where it is. I've vowed to try a piece of it in the pond this year. See how it likes THAT! ;)

Soils: How large are your bulbs? My crinum `Summer Nocturne' was quite large when I bought it and planted it and it has bloomed reliably, but if your bulb(s) is not large enough, that may be the reason. I have a large clump of crinums that haven't bloomed yet this year. It was almost the size of an amaryllis when I got it.

Angie, let's see your Crinum please. I have a house that were built in the 70'ish where I first discovered this crinum which was I.D.'ed to be "Milk & Wine" crinums. I've a few that rebloom reliably years after years. But many, many more just do not send out flowers. There is a secrets to growing crinums in which I haven't found yet.

HSteacher, you're South of where I'm, are yours blooming yet? Have you got any tips to share to maximize the bulbs' performance?

Lily_love,

Yes, I am in Mobile, AL. The ones that I planted in July, 2008 began blooming two weeks ago. I see more starting to open now.

These seem to bloom earlier for me. I have some that will bloom a little later and one that blooms in late summer.

Here is the one that started blooming two weeks ago. I don't do anythng special for them. They do like lots of water which we get here. They don't seem to mind high or low ph. They never get fertilized.

It appears we've the same type of crinums. I've another one that is solid, light pink, and the flowers do not have the pink/burgundy stripes.

The one above is facing South, 6 hours of sun approx. a day. The pink one get morning sun mostly. Some others in various other areas which maybe shadier (dappled shade), that's only reason (why they don't flower) that I can think of? How much sun does yours get?

I do believe it is important to have the botanical name for these crinums. "Milk and Wine" does not help to know the bulbs origins so as to have a better idea of what it prefers to make it flower. There is one here that grows in or next to streams that dry up each season and this is the trigger to get it to flower. Mine had too much water last year and only produced one spike, the year before I dried it out a bit and lots of spikes. Many crinums have bulbs the size of a football before they flower and as such need a forever place in the garden as they are very difficult to move.

Thanks tgg and hemo. I don't know how big the bulbs are, after 6 years in the ground, they should be fairly good size. They did bloom once - two years ago.

Lily--love - good to know that I am not the only one with this lack of blooming problem. I got some more crinums in a trade this year, so I will try planting them in drier, wetter, sunnier, and shadier and maybe at some point I will strike a good combination LoL.

Keriblu - for my existing ones, my dilemma would be - do I move them to a different spot to see if they would be happier, or would I be setting them back because I moved them???? Unfortunately, I have no clue what varieties I have.

Lily and others: I'm catching this on a court recess, but I will take a photo of my crinums (not blooming yet) tonight when I get home. They are white with pale pink and smell sweet when they bloom. I'll check my home computer and see if I have a photo from last year.

Angie

Soilandup, please keep touch and share your finding. Last year, I transplanted some more bulbs. I too will post new development to share with those that are interested.

A note on different crinums type and hardiness. The ones that I posted pix as above. Those are hardy here in my zone. I purchased some extra large size bulbs that are 'tropical in origin' those are NOT hardy here. I purchased 4 bulbs last year. Tried one out in the garden, kept 3 indoor (overwinter) in a pot. The one which was left outdoor bid me farewell. I believe those are the 'spider flowering kind'.

Okay, y'all. Here's my `Summer Nocturne' clump:

Let me see if I can find a photo of last year's blossoms. BRB.

Here's the only one I can find, but this was taken after it was transplanted.

This photo doesn't show the color of the bloom at all. Sorry.

This message was edited Jun 11, 2009 8:07 PM

That looks like another type of crinum. Thanks Angie for the comparision note.

Lily: This one was purchased from Tony Avent at Plant Delights in Apex, NC. I'll see if I can locate one of his catalogues and get more info for you.

Angie

To answer the first question, why are crinums so expensive?

Crinums can take several years from seed to flower (some up to eight years). Commercial growers are very reluctant to grow them on a large scale due to the length of time for growing them out, and of course then there's space and digging them. It's much simpler and more cost effective to grow plants that mature more quickly, a few years is a long time to work for a few dollars. It's possible to find some of the more widespread crinums fairly cheap because they have been in cultivation for a long time and the bulbs have had time to offset, or the native crinum american (Florida and other areas of the deep south) can be found inexpensively.

Keriblu, I wonder if the streamside crinums you are referring to are macowanii? If you scroll down you can see if the pictures match up.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/CrinumSpeciesThree
I am curious, I adore crinums and other South African natives, you are fortunate to be from a place with some amazing plants!!

LilyLove, it looks like you have a Herbertii type (there are many so not sure exactly), mine just finished it's first scape and two more are coming up. The cross is between scabrum and bulbispermum which increases it's hardiness.

Crinums do best here in full sun, well drained soil, dry winters, with lots of feeding. Some have more tolerance for shade or want more water, but generally, as long as they get the above and I amend the clay here, they bloom nicely and some repeatedly. Fertilizing them well seems to keep them happy and blooming for me, I use bone meal, blood meal, plant-tone, compost, etc

Here's a scabrum hybrid that I found blooming this morning. I didn't think it was old enough, and it's been in a crowded pot so I was very surprised to see it bloom for the first time, even with it's two sad lil blooms. I wanted to pollinate the bloom with both Herbertii and Eboraci blooms that were going to open this evening, but it rained really hard.The name is 'Fireworks Finale'....and the ants like it, too

Lily: Here's the description of my crinum from Tony's catalogue:

Crinum 'Summer Nocturne' (Summer Nocturne Crinum Lily)
SunZone: 7-10 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
This vigorous and heavy-flowering Thad Howard cross of C. moorei and C. erubescens has become one of our favorite crinums. The 2' tall, purple flower spikes arise from among the lush green foliage starting in mid-July and continuing until frost. Each spike produces 5-6 large, widely open, pale pink flowers that darken toward the end of the petals. Each flower boasts a phenomenal sweet fragrance that perfumes for quite a distance around the clump...AMAZING! Pot size: 24 fl. oz

And, yes, I paid $24.00 for the pot, but it had 2 bulbs in it, which I divided with a friend of mine, and they were about baseball size. However, you can see from the size of my clump that it has increased nicely. I'll be expecting blooms later this summer.

Angie

This is from last year, Summer Nocturne, I'm not a great photographer

hard to catch that light pink color at the tips but here's a closer view

Tropicana,
This is the first time, that I learnt crinium can take as long as 8 years to mature. I believe it, because I moved some bulbs from my old house to my current garden 8 years ago....and some of those offspring/offsets haven't bloomed yet. Thank you, for the honest info. in which many expert in the field may avoid mentioning when they have a few to try to move them in the market.

Regardless how long it take for the flower to bloom, I still love those flowers and forever remain Lily_love. All kind of lilies -- so to speak. Even though, lily is a broad term that applies to many genus.

Angie, thank you for taking the time to share your info. with me.

What's not to love about crinums. This blooms every year reliably the last 4-5 years, that explained -- the bulb is very large signaling the thing has been growing for years ....