Crinum Lily
What Is A Crinum Lily
A crinum lily is a most interesting plant that would be a nice addition to any garden area. It produces unique looking blooms that are colorful and rare. Even the stems are unusually shaped and colored as well as the leaves. The crinum lily can be used in the garden or to accent an otherwise boring area in the yard. These flowering plants are easy to grow and they also produce an exceptional fragrance. This is probably the reason that they are popular with so many gardeners.
The crinum lily is a member of the amaryllidaceae family of plants and it is a tender, tropical perennial. It can grow up to 4 feet in height and it is considered a shrub like plant that produces bulbs. The leaves and stems can come in different colors that include burgundy, light green, evergreen and bronze and the leaves are long and are thicker near the base of the plant. At the edge of the leaves are signature points. This crinum lily is a rather large plant and even the beautiful flowers are considered large. This plant produces blooms from early spring until early winter. The flowers have 6 separate petals that are long and thin. These petals come in a variety of colors and most of them are white with a purple stripe in the middle of each petal. You can also see petals that are a pink to red color and white to near white color.
This plant is considered a tropical plant and it should be grown in a warmer climate. It will survive in temperatures as low as 25 degrees but this is rare. Normally it will thrive in temperatures that are over 75 to 80 degrees and there should also be a bit of humidity in the air for the plant to be healthy. If you are growing a crinum lily and the weather is scheduled to go below freezing, you can place a plastic bag over the plant to protect it or add mulch like dried leaves around the plant for added protection.
Before planting a crinum lily it is a good idea to measure the PH levels in your soil. This plant likes acidic and mildly alkaline soil, so you can benefit by using a fertilizer. You can purchase a soil tester kit at any local home and garden center and test your soil. Use any fertilizer that can help add these things to your soil and you may have to do this more than once a year. Fertilizing is well worth it because doing this helps the plant produce more blooms and healthy, colorful foliage.
When it comes to watering this plant, you really can’t over do it. It helps this plant considerably to have constant moist and wet soil. Never let the soil around the plant turn sandy or dry. You should probably saturate the soil surrounding this plant at least twice a week.
Sunlight isn’t a big problem either, with this plant. It likes a mix of sun and shade but too much hot direct sunlight can damage the blooms. Place it in an area that has morning sunlight and afternoon shading and this should be perfect for the plant.
The crinum lily attracts wildlife to your yard because of the beautiful colors it produces. The red and pink colors can attract birds like a humming bird and they can also attract bees and butterflies. But you should be careful when handling these plants. They are said to cause allergic reactions with the skin and can actually be poisonous if they are ingested. It may be a good idea to keep any animals and children away from these plants and always wear gardening gloves when pruning or handling them.