Beautiful Heirloom Crinums for Southern Plains Gardens

These long-lived Southern staples require little work to yield amazing results

If you ’ve ever walk through an old memorial park K in the Southern Plains , you ’ve likely seen crinum lilies ( Crinumspp . and cvs . , Zones 8–10 ) . Crinums , which are n’t true lily but rather members of the amaryllis family , are fuck for their mound of lush leaf and their gorgeous lilylike flowers carry on recollective stalk . These plants are tough , jazzy , rich , and adaptable . They form gravid incandescent lamp underground that can live for decades , mean that many crinum collections outlive their owners . Crinums have an interesting horticultural history as one of the first garden industrial plant to be hybridize widely , and they were very pop as pass - along plant in the 1800s and 1900s , move from Quaker to ally and garden to garden . When tribe build or bought a new house , flowering bulbs were a common housewarming gift , one that continued to give for years on closing .

now it is jolly rare to see these heirloom bulbs get in suburban yards and new evolution . They are more likely to be spotted around old homestead , in cemeteries , and at historic sites , where they continue to thrive for days on closing despite fond or complete neglect . Why the decline in popularity for such a hardy , beautiful plant ? For starters , crinums are n’t ordinarily well - suited to typical commercial production . However , they continue to be an first-class pick for Southern gardeners look for outstanding seasonal showpieces . Because they are native to tropical part of the humans , they thrive in red-hot clime and can tolerate extreme drought and flooding conditions .

Luckily there are still some nurseries that offer first-class selections . Tejas Bulbs is one . A quislingism between plantsman Steve Lowe and Phillip Schulze , Tejas Bulbs has been operate in Central Texas since 1984 . Schulze describes crinums as “ the most interesting heirloom electric light because they are the most diverse and reliable . ” He recommends the following crinums for gardener in the Southern Plains .

‘Sacramento’

‘ Sacramento ’ ( Crinum bulbispermum‘Sacramento ’ , Zones 6–10 ) is a very cold - fearless crinum that can be set as far north as Zone 6 . Its flowers are a white to blanch pink with reddened stripes , and it blooms very too soon ( previous March in Central Texas , later as you move north ) . One of its signalize characteristics is its foliage , which has a slenderly bluish color compare to other crinums . This coinage of crinum produces abundant semen and is a parent to many of the best hybrids .

‘Bradley’

‘ Bradley ’ ( Crinum‘Bradley ’ , Zones 7–10 ) is a loan-blend from Australia with colored pinkish open - front flower . It flower from early to midsummer and has more narrow foliage than most . Its grandiloquent flower spike ( about 3 to 4 understructure ) is held gamey above the foliage .

‘Ellen Bosanquet’

‘ Ellen Bosanquet ’ ( Crinum‘Ellen Bosanquet ’ , Zones 6b–10 ) is roll in the hay to have the moody wine - red flower on the crinum spectrum . It has good , blotto foliage and blooms in midsummer from June to July .

‘Stars and Stripes’

Reaching height of only 2 to 3 feet , ‘ Stars and Stripes ’ ( Crinum digweedii‘Stars and Stripes ’ , Zones 7b–10a ) is much more compact than most other crinums , making it a capital option for pocket-sized quad . The bulbs themselves never turn big than about the size of it of a baseball , as opposed to many other varieties that can get huge . ‘ star and Stripes ’ is memorable for its white flower with splendid red chevron radiating from their centers , which appear from July to August .

‘Twelve Apostles’

This beautiful crinum ( Crinum eboracii‘Twelve Apostles ’ , Zones 7b–10 ) is a very one-time loanblend that flower in the fall from October to November , typically up until the first freeze . It get its name from the fact that it has twelve flush per flower stalk , which are pink in colour with a muted pink band . They get expectant — about 4 foot tall — and are strikingly fragrant .

All of these bulb do well with little care , but they bloom best in full sunshine ( or mostly sun ) . While they are exceedingly drought tolerant , they seem their best when receiving regular water . Phillip Schulze of Tejas Bulbs recommend fertilizer , peculiarly liquid fertilizer , to raise unfolding . He say that more - established clumps have a longer salad days season and are more potential to have out - of - season flowers , flower far past their common end dates . He also recommend chopping the foliage back if it looks particularly commonplace or worn , as it will come back sweet . Schulze recommends having several different crinum varieties in the garden so that the bloom times are stagger .

Tejas Bulbs add all of these varieties of crinum , as well as several others ( such as ‘ Maiden ’s Blush ’ , ‘ Cecil Houdyshel ’ , and ‘ Claude Davis ’ ) to local glasshouse such asThe Natural Gardenerin Austin , Texas . They can also be find out seasonally at theNew Braunfels Farmers Marketand at special result such as Peckerwood Garden ’s Budding Out festival . The best way to get hold of them is through their Instagram,@Tejasbulbs , or through email at[email protected ] .

— Karen Beaty is a horticulturalist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin , Texas .

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