In praise of 'Super E'
James Waddick (Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:59:20 PDT)

Dear all,
I have been one to praise the hardiness of crinums in cooler
climates and grown some for a decade or more. A few years ago one
person of this group (Many thanks) sent me the gift of what is now
the absolute star of the Crinum garden : Crinum 'Super Ellen'. This
Crinum is a cross between 'Ellen Bosanquet' and C. bulbispermum.
The former is barely hardy here and does not bloom every
year. I survives, but is not 'happy'. It is a beautiful red flowered
modest size plant. It is thought to be a hybrid of C. scabrum x C.
'J.C. Harvey'.
The former is another barely hardy. When it does bloom it is
great (this year for example), but it often does not bloom at all.
'J. C. Harvey' did not survive winters here.
Of course Crinum bulbispermum is among the hardiest.

See a picture of Ellen B at:

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

"Super Ellen' is just super. The current flower spike is
almost to eye level with numerous huge faintly (pleasantly ) scented
deep rose - red flowers and enormous foliage.
Here's a picture at the above url and :

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

I understand it can produce seed, but it has yet to do so for
me. (Must get those brushes dusted off. )

So if you are trying cold hardy crinums and can buy a bulb -
and they are not easy to come by- put it on the top of your wish
list. If I only had another dozen bulbs to plant around...

An excellent choice. Best Jim W.
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +