I am introducing the Topic of the Week in Mary Sue's absence. This week's
topic was also suggested by Robert Parker. It is: Have you ever grown a
bulb that has a reputation as a shy bloomer that blooms reliably for you
every year and sometimes twice a year. Tell us about your plant and what
you have done to get it to flower.
I purchased a Crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' several years ago, thinking it
wouldn't do well because of my cold winters. I placed it in a very large
pot in the greenhouse. It immediately grew too big to live in that pot and
did not bloom the first year, so I moved it to an outside planter bed. I
assumed it was a goner, and wouldn't survive my cold winters! Other than
giving the bed a dose of potassium when I started it, and sprinkling a
little bulb booster over the Crinum roots sometime in the fall, I do
nothing special for it. Well it has grown to cover 1/3 of an 8x12 bed
and has bloomed every year!
Marguerite English,
Vice President, Advertising Chairperson
Pacific Bulb Society
For information and membership forms, view http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/