Dear Arnold and all, I consider Crinum x powellii an 'entry level drug' for northern gardeners and I am very happy to hear of your success, Arnold. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… The "Commercial/Dutch' (C/D)strain I have grown for decades and am still amazed at its size, vigor hardiness and bloom-ability. I highly recommend it for anyone who doesn't "believe". The flowers can be short lived individually especially in the heat of summer, but the bulbs produce up to 4 or 5 scapes each and with a dozen and more flowers per scape the impact is terrific. And after giving hundreds of pounds of bulbs and dug hundreds more, I feel it is one of the least garden worthy of the hardy crinums. Alas. I still have a ton of bulbs and a few large plantings with dozen of stalks in bloom right now, but the flowers are (compared to other xpowellii clones and other hardy Crinum) inferior in too many ways. The petals are narrow and the flowers do not open widely. The color is less than 'special'. Now that you have been infected, time to go on to others. The most available clone that I feel is superior is the C/D of C. x powellii alba = this is a whole different critter. The petals are wide, the flowers large and well formed, the other characteristics are great. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… Another slightly better pink than the typical C/D clone is 'Cecil Houdyshell". It is slightly richer and opens wider. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… Even better is 'Nestor's pink opening still wider and with wider petals. But I am more and more convinced that the real leap is to another level and that is "Super Ellen' a cross between "Ellen Bousantquet' which is not reliably hardy for me and C. bulbispermum. The results are exceptional. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… Though it may be a bit big for many gardens it is worthy of the space. The flowers are 'splendid', numerous, huge and "magnetic". I grow a few other x powellii from various sources some even worse than the typical C/D strain - it's got to go. So now is a god time to look over the catalogs and order a few more. Save your pennies for 'Super Ellen' - and a prominent spot in the garden, too. Best Jim W. >I know Jim Waddick likes to hear about what his bulbs donated to the BX >are doing so I thought I would provide a bit of an update. -- 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 +
