I won a crinum bulb on the lily auction. How do they like to be buried and in what?
edited for my inaccuracies!
This message was edited Aug 26, 2008 8:29 PM
Please tell me about crinums
Hey Boojie!
What kind of Crinum is it?
R.
Most crinums need to be planted deep.I plant mine with the bottom of the bulb about 10 inches deep.If you notice,the crinum bulbs have very long necks.I have even heard that crinums will pull themselves deeper into the soil over time.I don't know if thats true but I can say that, when trying to dig a clump,they are hard to get out.
Okay, think "pot of crinum." Massachusetts is a far cry...
I got it on the lily auction and the bulb is tennis ball size. Here's a pic.
Robert, do you or gordo know what it is?
Looks like a nice xherbertii-type.
So you're planning to keep it potted?
If you pot up now, it will likely grow and remain green (indoors) over the winter. I pot mine in good humusy potting mix, but have also mixed in some good loam from time to time. I usually have the shoulder covered for stability, but have also planted them partially exposed as with Hippeastrum.
A Crinum of this kind will produce a prodigeous amount of root, more than other bulbs of the same size. Plan on your plant out-growing its container at an alarming rate. You might start it in an 8" pot for now with plans to pot on frequently as needed.
The roots seem to go right to the bottom of the container and then amass themselves there. So a very tall pot would have "wasted space" between the bottom of the bulb and the bottom of the pot, so what I do is to plant low down in a large pot, and lift the bulb when it is rootbound, and put more soil in the bottom of the same pot, and replant.
Depending on the pot size, you can pot on once or maybe twice per pot.
If you plan to plant in the ground, I would wait until next spring to allow maximum time for becoming established. I can give you some tips later if you plan to do that, but deep planting in a protected but sunny area is necessary since you are a little further north than its zone "preference".
You could also store the bulb dry (even through the winter) with no problem until you are ready to plant. Keep at 45-55F.
It *must* have maximum sun exposure indoors. They tend to produce masses of floppy foliage anyway, and under poor light-- what a mess!
The challenge for you will be to give it a long enough growing season to size up and bloom since they like it warm.
R.
I planted it today before reading and it looks like I done good. But Robert this is great info for the future. I think I will keep it going year round because that will give it more time to develop like my clivias. I saw some crinums blooming in SF, CA this summer and the temps were in the 50s! Should I bottom water like my hippeastrums?
She also sent me a small bulb for a bonus-a white flowering one that I will hopefully get to bloom and ID in a few years.
Here are the pots. Should I wait to water them till they start growing? (roots are quite dry.)
Yes, water now to start them going. You don't have to worry as much about over-watering as you do with Hippis, but do be a little "prudent" at first. Later, you can water freely. I don't have as much window space for the couple (tender, tropical) Crinums I keep indoors and green, so I would allow them to dry somewhat even though one love to be in standing water in the summer. I didn't want it to go so dry that it went dormant, but didn't want a lot of foliage growth in the weak light.
I always top-water, but bottom watering is fine, and in fact later, when the roots have filled the bottom of the pot, it might be better in the sense that Crinums have deep and wide-running root systems that often depend on ground-water more than rainfall in nature.
I don't know if you want to feed so much in the winter, but Crinums are heavy feeders so you can fertilize freely in growth. They will really fill up space and pot quickly, so watch out that they don't break your pots open or wedge themselves in too tightly.
Good luck!!!!
R.
Thanks, Robert!!!!!
Hi, boo
I have a couple of crinnums at the end of my daylily patch. They are so pretty! Just don't last long enough for me. So far I have left mine in the ground and they returned. I won a pink one from the LA this fall too. I tried to bury mine at least 8 inches deep.
And may add some extra mulch for winter.
Teresa
Wish I could leave the 400 or so houseplants outside! lol!