Hi James, Thank you for great suggestions on crinums. I grow C. powellii in the garden and agree with you. It takes a large space for not so impressive bloom. Furthermore, the roots go down two feet and to dig it up is a challenge. Laura Niagara on the Lake, Ontario On Sun, Jul 5, 2020 at 12:12 PM James Waddick via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > Dear PBS friends in Cooler zones, > > Please be aware that some Crinum do very well in cooler zones and > are not ALL plants for milder climates. I have been growing a variety of > Crinum species and hybrids for decades and am shocked when good gardeners > don’t believe they grow in the ground and are not dug every winter. I have > average winter lows of 0F and lower, summer high above 100 F. All Crinum > appreciate abundant watering here, but my climate is very dry most seasons. > > One of the easiest and cheapest to try if you doubt my words is C. > x powellii although I do not recommend it. It is totally hardy, vigorous > and floriferous, but its flowers are not especially attractive with narrow > petals and pale wimpy pink. It is may be too vigorous and spread rapidly. > Fortunately it does not produce seed, but the clump expands yearly. There > are so many MUCH better Crinums. > > One of the nicest and easiest is C. bulbispermum. It is very easy > from seed if given a very little care when it is young. In decades of > growing this here I do not think I have had any self sown seedlings. I > just sent a pile of seed to the Seed Ex. Seed must be planted immediately > as they do not keep long and will germinate in or out of the soil. Press > fresh seed into damp soil or sand only about 1/2 deep as they need light to > germinate. A large root will emerge and go into the soil. Soon after a > single thin leaf will emerge . Wait until the second leaf then cover the > seed with an inch of soil. If you have one seed per pot keep this seedling > frost free over the first winter. If you have a pot of seedlings transfer > to 1 seed to a pot for winter care. In spring after frost you can either > move it to a larger pot until fall or plant it right in a sunny spot in > the garden. Either way it is ready for the garden. It may take a year or 2 > or 3 before it blooms, but it will. It is slow to form a clump, but will > bloom for years. > > There are many excellent Crinum for the northern garden, but a few > comments: > > “Super Ellen”. Huge abundant flowers, but gets to 6 ft tall and a > spread of 8 to 10 ft or more. Not for the small garden.Gorgeous flowers. > > ‘Glory’ a smaller plant, but similar to ’Super Ellen’. > > C. powellii ‘Alba’ a pure white form of this hybrid, but with > nicely formed pure white flowers. > > ‘Cecil Houdyshel’ a nice pink x powelli type. > > Many others. I should mention a couple that have not grown for > me, but are abundant and popular in the southern : ‘Ellen Bousanquet’ , x > herbertii , ‘“Milk and Wine” types all proved too tender here. Avoid C > asiatum and variants. > > And finally if this has sparked any interest go to the PBS image > pages for species and hybrids. Start here: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… > > Do consider finding room for at least one Crinum in Zone 5 and > certainly in Zone 6 . enjoy Jim > > > > > On Jul 5, 2020, at 9:10 AM, Tim Eck via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > Thanks Jim, > I live in zone 6B, about 60 miles due west of Philadelphia but I overwinter > the pots in an unheated greenhouse. I am starting to plant some out in a > field this year for the first time. My Super Ellen has produced very few > seed over the years, but this could be one of them. > Or it could be a migrating tag. I have occasional helpers re-potting and > they don't always pick up the same tag they lay down - a source of great > frustration. > Tim > > On Sun, Jul 5, 2020 at 9:36 AM James Waddick via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > Tim, > > > > Not knowing where you live, I can't tell for sure as some of these > > are not hardy every where. As I understand ’Super Ellen’ is not self > > fertile and my plant in Kansas City has grown here for over a decade and > > never produced a seed even with hand pollination attempts. > > > > I suspect you live in a mild climate if you grow this in an above > > ground pot so that’s the end of my guesses. It is however very > beautiful. > > Jim > > > > > > > > On Jul 4, 2020, at 8:33 PM, Tim Eck via pbs < > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > > > Here is an unknown hybrid where the first half of the tag was destroyed > and > > the second half said "X Herbertii". > > I suspect it is SuperEllen x Herbertii or SuperEllen x self. Maybe Eagle > > Rock x Herbertii? > > I would appreciate any opinions.. > > > > Dr. James Waddick > > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd > > Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 > > USA > > Phone 816-746-1949 > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > Dr. James Waddick > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd > Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 > USA > Phone 816-746-1949 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…