Herself’s Houston Garden

I first heard about these plants at a talk I attended on ‘Recommended Tropical Plants for Houston’. I knew I had to have some even before I laid eyes on them. At the Mercer March Mart I was able to score two of them. Despite a bit of deer damage they are settling in very well and I fully expect blooms next May. The pictures above are from Mercer Gardens in May 2007.

The Crinum lilies are part of the amaryllis family. The leaves reach 3′-4′ in length. The plant will have a 5′ spread after it has had some time to grow. ( I did read a report online of one reaching 8′ tall ) Blooms are impressive. You should have several blooms per plant. If in an unprotected location they may need staking but in full sun in a sheltered location they do just fine on their own.

Crinum lilies prefer sun, but will grow happily in dappled shade. Watering needs are average to above average but they are drought tolerant once established. Fertilize regularly to encourage more blooms. Once establish you may get as many as 7 blooms/year.

Foliage may brown a bit in the winter here depending on how cold winter is, but they should stay green and leafed out year round. If they lose leaves in the winter they will bounce back come the warm weather.

Divide the bulbs as needed. Plant is poisonous.

One of the two crinums I planted grew lots and lots and is thriving but hasn’t yet flowered. The other didn’t put forth a single leaf, but gave me some short lived blooms. Go figure. The deer do not seem to like this plant.

12/13 I saw a beautiful collection of these blooming away down in Galveston last week. There was a row of several of the plants alongside a drainage gully. All were white and all had a half dozen to a dozen flowers in bloom.

More information:
Crinum asiaticum
Crinum.org