Find Us:
Cosmos in the Garden
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Publications
  • About me
  • Ask Jarek
  • Polski

Crinum

10/18/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Happy are those who live in mild and warm regions of our beautiful planet where the word "winter" sounds equally exotic as the name Crinum sounds here, in  the so-called  temperate climatic zone. Temperature differences are the major cause of all garden inequalities which foster jealousy and trigger a lot of work for those who "enjoy" the extremes of four seasons. I would love to have a garden full of flowering crinums without any  extra worries which come every late fall. Well,  I do not have one. But the desire to take pleasure in   heavenly flowers of crinum  is powerful enough to transform my envy into a series of scheduled responsibilities and get -  from time to time - a wonderful reward: a cluster of fragrant white , slightly pink  flowers. They look so divine  that I easily  forgive and forget all my jaundiced thoughts about mild and warm, and..., etc. 
If you are a lucky resident of winter infested areas, you need to know more about the growing of crinum than those who only plant the bulbs in the flower- bed and wait for the flowers.  There, with every year the plant emerging from the bulbs becomes more and more majestic as it produces more strap-like leaves arranged in nice rosettes and, of course, more clusters of  lily-like flowers, but more subtle and elegant in appearance. The fragrant flowers are either white, flushed with pink or rich  deep rose-pink. The colour depends on the cultivar. 


In colder areas crinum is usually grown in big containers, because the bulbs  grow quite big. The containers can be placed  outdoors  or located in spacious holes in the ground but always in full sun, where the crinum will  grow and wait for the autumn to come. When it happens,  the containers should be  transported into well lit sheltered places for the winter time. Some of the leaves usually turn yellow and eventually die, but  still they should be left on the plant until new growth appears in the spring. All these procedures are unknown to the inhabitants of  mild and warm climatic zones where crinum once planted can be left undisturbed for centuries. 

Crinum x powellii is a hybrid  which normally blooms in late summer or early autumn  but it is not always like that. Sometimes flowers can appear early spring before the new leaves emerge. The weather conditions influence the  flowering time as well as the dormant period which usually coincides with our winter season. Crinums grown as house plants will bloom more irregularly than those grown as partially garden kinds. No mater the way they are grown, they require rich garden soil, moist but well drained. The mother bulbs form new small bulbs at the base. They are  a natural start for new craniums. It is a good idea though, to let the roots become crowded in the pot  before we decide to separate new bulbs from the old one as crinum grows and flowers better when the container is rather tight for the roots, from our point of view. 

Crinums make perfect cut flower. We should be cautious while cutting the flower stems off as the sap has some irritants the skin can be allergic too. As a matter of fact the whole plant is considered to be toxic and my suggestion is to use only  our eyes and nose for flower contemplation. Even the most beautiful crinum is inedible, what a shame! 
Jarek
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Author

    I was destined to be born gardener. In order to become a professional  one I had to enjoy years of studying at various  schools and  universities...  read more

    Archives

    Kwiecień 2015
    Styczeń 2015
    Grudzień 2014
    Październik 2014
    Wrzesień 2014
    Sierpień 2014
    Lipiec 2014
    Czerwiec 2014
    Maj 2014
    Kwiecień 2014
    Marzec 2014
    Luty 2014
    Styczeń 2014
    Grudzień 2013
    Listopad 2013
    Październik 2013
    Wrzesień 2013
    Sierpień 2013
    Lipiec 2013
    Czerwiec 2013

    Categories

    Wszystkie
    Annuals
    Biennials
    Bulbs
    Corms
    Country Gardens
    Country Gardens
    Dry Decorations
    Fall
    Flowering Shrubs
    Flowering Shrubs
    Flowering Trees
    Flowering Trees
    Flowers
    Food
    Forrest
    Grains
    Grasses
    Herbs
    Leaves
    Meadows
    Orchards
    Other
    Perennials
    Potted Plants
    Rhizomes
    Roses
    Shade
    Shrubs
    Spring
    Summer
    Trees
    Tubers
    Vegetables
    Vines
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.