Amaryllis and Hippeastrums: crinum question, 1 by raydio

raydio wrote:
You're lucky to have that sandy loam. Around here it's all red "dirt" as we say. Over time you can get it nice and enriched and workable, but below that, it just concrete hard.

So, many people just dig a hole big enough to accomodate the bulb and leave it at that. Good old workhorse Crinums just go on and make themselves at home. The years later, they're faced with digging a trench through the unworked soil around the clump and does the "cussing" ever begin then!

I dug two clumps last year that were way down in hard red clayey loam and you know the rest.....

One clump wasn't so bad: it was on top of a sharp slope, so all I had to do was go straight in on the slope below the roots and then dig around a little bit on top and the whole clump slide down the hill. Ahhhhh, it only took an hour and a half. LOL.

Robert.