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!
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
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