Dan, Very cool! Is this a smaller growing species? The flowers look small to me?

Yeah, this is a smaller species....sort of the same size as the more common C. amoenum if you are familiar with that one. Not near as small as some of the little fellas though. To give you an idea, I have 3 flowering size bulbs (now I can say that for sure) plus offsets (this one offsets quite a bit) in a 14" diameter pot, although I'm sure that they would appreciate a bit more room now since they have been in the same pot for 5 years now.

Jim Shields claims these are hardy to zone 5 by the way, although I have never tried them in the garden. Jim also has on his web site that they do not flower in pots, but maybe that info is old.

I have a bunch of 2 year old baby seedlings (I got seed from a friend in South Africa in the spring of 2009) if anyone would like to trade by the way.

Glad you liked them :o) Dan

Great pics. Interesting species.

These are def. hardy here! Jim Shields actually lives 30 minutes away from me! The only thing is they should be planted after the bulb is about 2 inches around and planted pretty deep but they flower well! Bulbispernum is also hardy here :)

Josh

Hi Pat, I'm sure these would be perfect for you in your warm climate.....they can take swamp conditions, but mine obviously do not get that in a pot in Pittsburgh!!

Josh, maybe what I should do is separate some offsets out next spring and put them in the ground and see what happens.....but in the ground they would never get water from a hose....I just do not do that......therefore they will need to be able to take a few weeks in a row with no rain which is typical here in July/Aug......I could even take some of the 50 plus seedlings I have and risk their lives....the are tiny, but who cares :o) Dan

Dan,

I'd say it's worth a shot, sounds to me like you've got plenty to spare :) Worse comes to worse I've got a few I can send ya!

Jim said he's had some volunteer seedlings, I don't remember if they're variabile or bulbispernum but he says they've grown and they're in a very unprotected spot! How big are your seedlings?

Josh

Hey Josh, My seedlings are 2 years old now....I have maybe 70 of them left......I also have maybe 20+ larger offsets so if I want to give it a try it is not a problem if they croak.....my biggest problem is where to plant them in the ground as that space is limited :o) Dan

That is a very pretty crinum. I can't say I've ever seen a crinum that small before. All of mine seem to be on a race to see who can be the biggest! Or produce the most offsets. Even the variegated one has taken off in the last few weeks and doubled in size, it's a very slow grower for me, even produced a few offsets this year.
Thanks for the pics! Crinums are about my favorite plant, I've been fascinated by them since I was a kid, they grow everywhere here and there are a ton at the old cemetary.
Tally HO!

Hey Beachplant, I only have species Crinum (except for my own hybrid of C. amoenum x C. razafinsratsisaea) and the only one I would consider "large" is C. delagoense.....my largest bulb of that is 8" diameter, but these have a small "neck" so they are like a boulder. Most on mine have flowers smaller than this or the same size.....C. amoenum, C. lugardiae, C. lineare, C. ligulatum, C. acaule, C. modestum, C. razafinsratsisaea and a couple of others. I like these little fellas as they are easy for me in my cold climate in pots....and many of them have a fantastic smell which is a bonus :o) Dan

Dan,

Your C. Acaule, do you have any offsets of these available? I've been looking to get my hands on one for so long :( I'd pay whatever :)

Josh

C. Americanum is the smallest I grow, the bulbs average about 3-4 pounds, gets 2-3' tall, goes dormant a little further north I've been told, heavy, fragrant bloomer with a spidery white flower. It spreads like crazy. There are a couple and of course, discussions over which is which, the other c. Americanum sp grows in that thick gumbo further inland and has a bright white spidery flower that does go dormant. They look like a field of stars!
Milk and wine are the most common here in the ditches, cemetaries, etc. Those bulbs are bigger, I've dug up some that were a good 2' long & 5++ pounds. Most of them do look a lot more like a giant leek.
C. Asiactum is the biggest I grow, the plants get as tall as me (5'2") and can weigh in over 20 pounds. Again, this one is like a giant leek.
I do have some "smaller" varieties that form big thick round bulbs but the bulbs themselves can get pretty big, saucer size or better.
The fragrance is definately a bonus with these guys. Home Depot! of all places had 2 varieties, one was a burgandy C. Asiactum & the other I couldn't quite figure out, but I resisted-they still have a couple....that's the first time I've ever seen them at a big box store, small local nurseries on occassion but never a big box store.
Maricella has one of the best websites for crinums, she's selling again. She lives here in Texas and has been raising/breeding them for years. I don't think she grows any little ones like you do.
Now I need to look for some "little" crinums to round out the collection. I'm beginning to think I'm addicted to them, I've started digging up other stuff to put in more, I dig them from construction sites, the cemetary before the city mows them down, ditches, pick up the seeds off the beach, wade into swamps to dig them up, chasing down farmers to get permission to dig them out of fields.....I've mailed out literally hundreds of ones I rescued over the years.
Tally HO!

Here's the link...

Tally HO!

Here is a link that might be useful: Marcelles crinums

Hey Josh, Unfortunately, C. acaule is a non-offsetting species as far as I know. I have 3 specimen size bulbs, but they are tough to bloom as you likely know....I was very fortunate to have one bloom last summer, but none this summer...maybe next summer I will hit the lottery on this species!!

Beachplant.....sounds like an amazing collection!! I would love to have a conservatory where I could grow them in the ground year-round and enjoy them in the snowy weather. My tiniest one (maybe the tiniest in the world) is C. minimum which will flower from a bulb a half-inch in diameter. A few of my others are C. flaccidum from OZ, C. buphanoides and C. campanulatum, but these have not bloomed for me as of yet as I have been growing them from seed.....maybe some day :o) Dan

You'd need a big conservatory LOL! I think Marcella has 2 or 3 acres she grows them on. Next time we go that way we're gonna to see her. I don't have a favorite, every time one blooms it's my favorite! At least you have some small ones you can enjoy, eventually. Isn't that most of gardening life? Waiting on blooms, waiting on offshoots, spring... You know what will happen, they'll all bloom on the only 2 days you go out of town for the whole year!
Tally HO!

So true beachplant......you wait for a few years to see a bloom and then you miss it or it is over in a day anyway....I got home just in time for my C. variabile, but my Paramongaia that I have grown for years flowered last year when I was in New Zealand so I missed it.....maybe I will get lucky and have it bloom again this winter!! I would love to have a conservatory large enough to have a bunch in the ground....large or small :o) Dan