[pbs] Crinum Blooming
J.E. Shields
jshields104 at comcast.net
Mon Jun 9 08:02:43 EDT 2008
Here in wet, muggy central Indiana -- in the part that is NOT under water
-- three of Al Sisk's crinums are in bloom. These three are growing out in
the open field.
I have one C. (bulbispermum X graminicola) in that same bed that is still
alive, out of maybe 6 that were planted 2 years ago. No blooms on any of
that cross yet, in the ground or in pots.
A half-dozen C. (variabile X bulbispermum), siblings to the clone I sent to
Tony Avent, are still growing in that bed, but they have not so far offered
to bloom. Tony's climate may be a bit friendlier to crinums than mine
is. The flowers on Tony's plant are beautiful! Tony, by the way, is
propagating that clone and will eventually offer it in his catalog.
C. macowanii (my #1022.A) from a nursery in South Africa is blooming
too. C. bulbispermum from the same nursery are also starting to
flower. Most of my C. macowanii bloom markedly later in our season than
#1022.A does. This one has nice balloon-like flower form as well as black
anthers underneath the creamy white pollen.
C. (bulbispermum roseum X lugardiae ex KZN) are also sending up scapes. As
I have sold down on this cross, a couple years ago I made a cross of
bulbispermum that I call 'Herb's Red' with Natal lugardiae, and hope to see
blooms on some of those seedlings in a year or two. Maybe they will show
more red than the (bulbispermum roseum X lugardiae ex KZN) flowers do.
I have found that planting small bulbs outdoors is futile. If I plant full
grown, bloom-size, Crinum bulbs outdoors, I am much more likely to see the
bulbs survive through the winter here. That means growing them on in at
least a 3-gal. pot. You can grow them forever in a one gallon pot and
they'll stay smaller than a hen's egg as long as you keep them in the
little pot. Even the dwarf Caribbean Crinum oliganthum does better in a
2-gal. pot than in a 1-gal. pot.
The crinums don't seem to mind all this heat, humidity, and rain. I'm glad
something doesn't mind it.
Jim Shields
in central Indiana (USA)
*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA
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