Aren't crinums lovely? Put a couple stakes beside it and lean a box on them to shade it during the hottest part of the day.

Crinums are definitely lovely. The fragrance was amazing. Thanks for that tip plantmaven, I'll look for a box. When I first got the crinums in March, they looked pretty bad lol. I'm amazed at how fast they recovered and the largest crinum has a leaf that's nearly 2 ft. long now.

Here's a picture from March

Those are so pretty! I am also surprised that you got a bloom. Crinums usually pout for a couple of years, after being transplanted.
Jim

Thanks Jim! I was surprised too lol. I went outside to check on all of my plants after it rained, and that's when I noticed the flower stalk.

Thanks pkponder! I hope yours bloom this year? I have some red spider lilies that haven't bloomed in 3 years. I'm hoping they bloom this year. I planted some gold spider lilies in March also.

Here's another favorite of mine. I bought it at a local plant swap this year.

Zephrythanthes Labuffarosea
{{gwi:314990}}

My red spider lilies skipped blooming for the past two fall seasons too. I think that the heat/drought of 2011 caused ongoing damage. My fingers are crossed for this year.

This is Hannibal's Dwarf crinum, planted two years ago in May. This is the first bloom.
Jim

I lost so many cannas during the 2011 drought. I hope your red spider lilies bloom this year too. I have mine in a container, I was so afraid to move them again, so I left them there. Jim, your Hannibal's dwarf is beautiful! What's the fragrance like?

Ellen is less picky about being moved than some of the others. I`ve had her bloom in pots after digging them up for trades.

Crinums like full sun, the more sun the better. They are drought tolerant once established.

Asiactum is BIG,I have one that is almost 6` and just as wide.

Mine are everywhere in the yard, they get no special treatment and right now blooms are everywhere!
Tally HO!

Wow, I'm glad Ellen is less picky lol. I have EB planted on the west side of my house, so it gets plenty of afternoon sun and the Asiaticum is planted on the south side of my house, but both are being shaded by cannas lol. Its amazing that you have an Asiaticum that big. I may cover mine with lots of mulch and see if they overwinter outside.

I have Crinum that my grandmother-in-law planted some 70 years ago and that have lined the driveway since I married in the family in 1960. They are in the blazing sun all day. I never mulch, or shade them and they are fabulous. Bloom everytime it rains.

I have no idea of the type, just old fashion white with pink stripe.
Also have planted several others , most in full sun but some in either morning or afternoon shade...all do great. In fact, I think about my Crinums as my bullet proof plants. No work in fall, no work in spring and no work in summer....just great memories and beautiful blooms...

Oh, for years and years we had what the family called "Georgia Thumper" grasshoppers on the Crinums. Did not hurt them either, and the kids loved picking and playing with the huge black grasshoppers...putting the on strings and wearing them...the whole deal. Unfortunately we lost them, either during the drought or from the pesticides. Would love to get them back.

Ginnypenny, that's an amazing history behind your crinums. Its so sad that your lost your crinums. Its been a few days since I last watered mine, but so far they seem alright. I've nearly given up on watering everything else. I water twice a week and my plants are still wilting. I guess next year I'll just replace everything with crinums lol.

Ginny, do they have foliage around knee/thigh high, kind of messy and bluish green? Probably milk and wine. They are the most common pass-a-long crinum around Texas. There is a house here that had them lining the drive, they dated to the early 1900`s. Some jerk bought the house and chopped them all down!!!! Didn`t even dig up the bulbs, chopped them up and killed them. I remain heartbroken.
Tally HO!

That's terrible beachplant. I would be heartbroken too.

I guess I said it wrong. We did not lose the crinum, but lost the georga thumpers.

Yeah, beachplant, they fit your description, well...maybe the leaves are more green than blue green, but certainly the messy part fits! And the leaves grow almost twice as long as they do tall and so really look messy. But we love them and would hate to lose them. We've give lots to all the various cousins, grandkids, nieces, etc.

I agree with you, people who purchase old homesteads should at lease ask and see if someone wants the plants. Of course, I don't understand why you buy a place and then proceed to change it entirely.

I've never grown those and they seem like perfect plants for around here. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this post. Next time I see some, I will definitely buy them.

ginnypenny I'm glad you didn't lose any crinums. The Milk and Wine crinums are pretty. I almost bought one at a local plant sale, but I was so focused on the various irises lol. Lynnmarie I bought one of my crinums from Home Depot. It was labeled Red and White so I'm not sure which cultivar it is. This was the first year I've seen crinums at Home Depot and Lowes.

blackwillow-- that pic of the zephyranthes labuffarosa you posted looks very similar to something that has been popping up in my yard! At first, because it popped up all by itself, I thought it was just a little Texas wildflower but now I'm wondering if it's something else. Photos I've looked up show the zephyranthes blooms sprouting out of a little mounding groundcover that looks kind of like liriope. The blooms that pop up in my yard are just 12" to 24" straight stems that sit perfectly upright. They appear overnight in the spring and anytime it's rainy and mild.

Idk what they are exactly but would love to know for sure if anyone can say. If it is a zephyranthes, I'd love to know how to cultivate them next time they appear.

Paradisecircus I wonder if you have the native rain lily Cooperia pedunculata? I went to the Name that Plant forum and that's how I got mine identified. At first I thought it was Z. grandifolia because the picture at the plant sale looked like grandifolia. But once it bloomed it didn't look like one in the picture.
I moved mine to a container so I could enjoy the blooms more. I had them in my flowerbed but they were hidden by passion vines. Even after I dug mine up, a few days later they continued to grow as if nothing happened. One is producing a couple of offsets. I'm letting them dry out and then I'll flood them with water. I know they do best in moist soils, but its an experiment.

blackwillow I think you've identified it for me! I looked up cooperia pendunculata and that sounds like what I have except for the strap-like leaves. Granted, when they have popped up, I've gotten so jazzed about them that I haven't taken a really close look if they have the leaves sprouting at their base. They pop up in the middle of the grass in my backyard so there may be small shoots forming that are masked by the grass. Next time they make an appearance, I think I'll dig up as many as possible and put them in a pot and see if they like being in "captivity".

I was the same way with my rain lily lol. I was inspecting my garden after a rain shower, and caught a glimpse of something pink hidden in the passion vine. I ran in to get my camera to take a picture of it because I was so excited. I didn't think it would bloom this year so it was a nice surprise. I've read rain lilies make good container plants. I have mine in a shallow terra cotta pot. Hopefully I will have a nice colony by the end of the year.

Nice! Haha, I totally understand that feeling of excitement when something suddenly "appears" in your yard! Especially with these cute little blooms. Despite not knowing what it was, I knew right away it wasn't your typical weed. Now I can read up on them. My husband calls them my "little buddies" because when they do show up, I squeal like a little girl and run out in the yard with my camera.

LOL that's a good name for rain lilies. They're tough little plants. I've had several surprise blooms this year. Since one crinum bloomed this year, maybe my spider lilies will bloom in Fall. If they do, I'll probably take a hundred pictures lol. All of my plants are wilting right now, even my wildflowers. My poor crinums look pretty bad too.

Crinums are tough sure enough!

A friend dug some bulbs and gave them to me not knowing I already had the light pink ones. They laid out for six weeks before I got around to planting them a couple of weeks ago. Now one of them is blooming!

I knew they would live with such mistreatment, but wasn't expecting the poor thing to bloom. Evidentally it had decided to bloom before being dug and nothing was going to stop it.

Wow that's amazing. I'm hoping mine recover from the drought.

We had a little rain here, enough to trigger more flowers on my rain lilies. One bulb produced 2 flowerstalks.

My poor Ellen Bosanquet crinums had to be cut back because of the scorched leaves.

My Noid crinum is finally taking off.

And lastly, my baby crinums a friend sent.

Thanks for posting the photos! All of my plants are looking much perkier now that temps have cooled and we've had a good rain. I'll bet your crinums and rain lilies are appreciating it too!

Thanks paradisecircus, mine are looking much better now after the rain. I'm glad we finally have a break from the heat.

Paridisecicus - check this out - the white flower is trillum. I have them pop up now and then too. Love the flowers that show up after it rains.

Here is a link that might be useful: trillum

My crinums went under water in Ike and had no damage. I`ve picked them up on the beach after storms, taken them home and they are happily growing in the yard. The seeds are one of my regular beachcombing finds and about 95% sprout.

Rain lilies are all coming out now with this past weeks rain. I have them in the yard but hard to see with everything else lol.
Tally HO!

Not sure if anyone's still active on this thread but thought I'd post a follow up. I'm pretty sure the little white blooms that have been popping up in my yard are cooperia pendunculata and not trillum. I noticed a few had popped up this morning which I thought odd since it didn't rain last night and it's been hot as Hades lately. I grabbed a spade, dug them up to try potting them and was delighted to see they were sprouting from little bulbs! I've potted them up and curious to see how they do. I hope they multiply like gremlins! :p

Beachplant, that's so neat that you find crinum seeds on the beach. That's such a nice find.
Paradise, I'm so glad you were able to dig them up to put in pots. I find that my rain lilies will flower without rain if I let them dry out completely, and then give them a deep soaking. I've read that if they stay in moist soil the leaves won't die back.

Good to know! I have them in just some regular ol' potting soil from the big box stores with a layer of cedar mulch. They're sitting under a tree where it gets morning sun and then dappled shade in the afternoon. I'll post another pic (and maybe its own thread) if anything eventful happens. Thanks for your help blackwillow!

That sounds like the perfect set-up. I look forward to seeing a photo of your new potted rain lilies. You'll probably have hundreds next year :P Definitely keep me updated on their progress.