April 28 , 2021
Crazy About Crinum Lilies and Spider Lilies!
Every few months , new packages come . Nope , they ’re not dropped on my doorsill . They come out up in the garden , often on the face of it overnight , when bulb render their seasonal messages . This week , heirloom Byzantine gladiolus lined up in Battle of Magenta majesty . I planted them from corm one dusk years ago . Every summer , I cut them to the ground for felicitous returns in late wintertime . Frilly yellow bearded iris sound for curb appeal , undaunted by good afternoon ’s sun blast against street - reflect hotness . Drought - knotty , its evergreen leaf simply needs a little grooming a few times a year . This true little make it - a - long is named ‘ Glitter Gulch’ . St. Joseph ’s lily ( Hippeastrum x johnsonii ) , also called Johnson ’s lily , blooms for weeks in April . come forth as usual after wintertime dormancy and the not bad February freeze , mine get some morn and afternoon sun . A metallic greenish exertion bee could n’t resist that trumpeting invitation . Their genus Hippeastrum is in the amaryllis crime syndicate . occur on their blooming heels are the crinum lilies , also in the family Amaryllidaceae . Although crinums are generally magnanimous than amaryllis , their relationship is plain through the same fleshy , strappy parting and deep cannular flowers . Crinums , spuria iris , and daylilies were sure a mess after February ’s big freeze . But not for foresightful ! Here they are today after a little cleanup . Spuria iris stands tall again , flaunting golden flower beloved by bees and wasps . day lily , whiskery iris , native inland sea oats , and red - blooming Salvia ‘ Silke ’s Dream ’ link crinums making a fast rebound . That blank space will be covered by June . These bulbs , rhizome , and corms have all been turn over down for contemporaries across country , states , neighborhoods , families , and friends . I got these crinums fromBoggy Creek Farmlong ago . Who knows : they could have been set 100 age ago!This week , CTG ’s boniface John Hart Asher join Steve Lowe , founder of Tejas Bulbs , and longtime collaborator , Phillip Schulze , for the most comprehensive prompt look at spring up crinums I ’ve ever seen .
Mine bloom from June through early August , but they ’ve set about me hooked on potpourri that extend the cycle from April to rime . The first in spring is Crinum bulbispermum ( this one is ‘ Sacramento ’ ) , native to Africa , and reproduced from abundant seeded player . “You’ll typically find those — mutation of those that have gone feral — in parts of fundamental East Texas down in swale off the highway or next to the railroad rails , ” Steve told us .
Crinums are great selection for rain garden , depressions that collect rainwater and then dry out out . “ They can take flooding and they can take drouth , which is very , very unique , and makes them crop really well here in Texas because that ’s what we have . We have floods and droughts , ” Phillip said . From his farm in Boerne , Steve grow countless varieties from bulb division . He also cross from seed , include ‘ Lady Chameleon ’ that peak from seminal fluid in just two age . Its summertime petals deviate in color from one heyday to the next , a botanical phenomenon call up “ chimaera . ”Working in the commercial nursery business sector in the 80s , he come upon rugged - as - nail crinums . Many survive along with antique roses even in long - abandoned homesteads . recognize their time value as a body of water - resourceful plant , he started Tejas Bulbs in 1984.In a sunup Dominicus bed along my home , ‘ Ellen Bosanquet ’ crinum lily ( hybridized between 1915- 1920 ) sits under a fragrant ‘ Buff Beauty ’ grow ( introduce in 1939 ) . There are three crinums in this seam , along with narcissus , daylilies , yuccas , annuals , yarrow , spuria iris , Salvia microphylla , one ‘ Tropical Giant ’ Hymenocallis from Tejas , and a perimeter of native asters and snake herb ( Dyschoriste linearis ) that ’s blooming lavender now . Phillip got necessitate with Tejas as a tiddler when his dad partnered with Steve . Now , he grows crinums at his farm in New Braunfels and work with Steve when he ’s not at theLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centeras the botanical garden and natural field manager .
Many crinums are fragrant , too , and make great slice flowers , Steve note . May - bloom Crinum x powellii go to many weddings!Steve and Phillip grow most of theirs in full sun , but afternoon shade is always welcome . Mine get flip morning and good afternoon sun . They also accept my arduous soil . Steve ’s grow in clay and said , “ They thrive on whatever you throw at them . ”Here , a strappy leaf embraces ‘ Pam ’s pinkish ’ turk ’s roof in a bottom that gets a little first light sun followed by shade until late afternoon when it gets blasted . So , how do you get them to bloom ? RAIN ! “ Normally eight to 10 24-hour interval after a in effect rainwater you ’re going to get a prominent flush of flowers , ” Steve say . If you want to push them along a flake , feed with a balanced fertiliser , top dress with manure , or drench with HastaGro now and then . June and July bring on the deep pink and red . ‘ Ellen Bosanquet ’ is a large one you ’ll often regain . Australian native ‘ Bradley ’ is smaller , about the size of it of agapanthus . previous summer heralds aboriginal Crinum ‘ Americanum ’ , also have it away as swamp lily and wanderer lily . I fleck this one at the Wildflower Center ’s entrance pond . Lots of plants are call “ wanderer lily ” from gloaming ’s red - bloomingLycoris radiatato summertime ’s Hymenocallis . This one ’s Hymenocallis ‘ Tropical Giant ’ that bloomed for me just two month after I bought it from Tejas at an event . Steve and Phillip like these cold - hardy bulbs for their rich , never - messy foliage , that ’s utter to line a border , driveway , or a pool . And they ’re small plants , too , like this H. genus Riparia . In July , Crinum ‘ Stars and Stripes ’ puts on its own pyrotechnic . It was introduced by Thad M. Howard , a Texas grower we boast on CTG long ago when he publishedBulbs for Warm Climates . I strongly commend it!In fall , we can descend for fragrant ‘ Twelve Apostles’ . ‘Jubilee ’ is the last to blossom in October to frost . It ’s a little crinum that also accepts some shade . When they immobilize back in wintertime , simply pull aside or clip off the damage growth . I even edit out back soupy necks . If they start looking tatty in tardy summertime , Steve will cut back at the neck to prompt new lucullan growth . Since it ’s hard to kill a crinum , established unity can get so big that you ’ll require a couple of people or even a backhoe to fraction . But I ’ve dug up and divided mine a couple of times . Steve and Phillip divide theirs to bring home the bacon to greenhouse in leap , but you’re able to move any time of the year . Tejas Bulbs does n’t host a website but you could notice their bulbs in tardy spring atThe Natural Gardenerand often atRainbow Gardensin San Antonio . They will also head again to events next year , including the Mercer Arboretum in Houston .
learn now for all their great tips !
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