Bulbs with attractive foliage
James Yourch (Wed, 09 Jun 2004 12:10:51 PDT)

Hi All,

I am new here but have been reading along for a few months. I read May's
discussion about bulbs with attractive foliage and here are my picks which I
don't think overlap with any of the excellent choices that were mentioned
earlier. All of the following are in the Amaryllidacae family.

Crinum x 'Mrs. James Hendry' - foliage is very tidy and stiffly erect, very
attractive even when not in bloom.
Crinum jagus 'Rattrayii' - a different look than 'Mrs. James Hendry', but
also very attractive.
Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' - dark green and glossy swords.
Hymenocallis latifolia - same as above but with even larger and broader
leaves.
Eucharis x grandiflora - unusual for an Amaryllid, this one has broad,
heart-shaped, glossy leaves.

The Eucharis is tender and does fine in lower light situations, so I grow it
as a houseplant that gets a vacation outdoors each summer. The others I
grow out in the open in my Zone 7 garden, although the jagus 'Rattrayii' is
in a protected spot on a south facing slope and gets mulched heavily for
winter. Any of these would work for container culture in colder climates,
although the containers would need to be large.

I can take photos of the foliage of any of the above and post them to the
wiki if anyone is interested.

Regards,

Jay Yourch
Raleigh, NC USA (USDA Zone 7)