TWENTY THREE PERCENT HUMIDITY! I wish we had that here!

it goes lower too..I have seen our sensors show 0% to 13% extremely low humidity especially at the peak of summer....scary levels..very tinder dry. When that happens, I just hope no overzealous homeowner is doing any mowing, so easy to set a fire.

I've grown Crinums for a long time. There are lots of varieties and some have different needs, so it's hard to give specific advise. I moved recently and both of the clumps I moved bloomed this year. But don't be surprised if those small ones don't bloom for many years.

I also believe that they do pull themselves deeper in the soil. I really admire that you were able to dig so many up. When they are in clay, it can be a back breaking job!

SALL20.

@SALL20 Crinum don't get discussed much so I was glad that Tiffany found her a gold mine and shared with us.

Thanks for the welcomes! I love crinums but I only brought 3 with me, because my yard is not very big now and I am trying to keep it manageable. I grow an old milk & wine that I got from my dad's in Missouri and named varieties, Cecil Houdyshel and Summer Nocturne. I highly recommend Cecil H. It is a prolific bloomer. Some of the crinums are just not good bloomers no matter what the gardener does. They just have a mind of their own!

SALL20,
So glad you posted that, now when my wife complains that my crinums don't seem to bloom much, I will show her your post and say see...not my fault.

Hi & welcome, Sall! TY so much for sharing your anecdotes, much appreciated! The past few days, it seems like Crinums are in every yard I drive by, on my mind I guess. And no doubt, some are blooming, some not. I did look on a few sites that sell bulbs to get a feel for how many diff ones are out there & you're so right - a LOT!

Generally, the ground here is definitely clay, red clay, with a lot of sand. (Clay + sand = concrete!) If one tries to dig a hole in the middle of lawn, it's going to be really tough. Really tough. But, in the spot where the Crinums had been growing for at least the 10 yrs that my friend has owned her house, leaves & pine needles were piled around them over winter, mostly shady. I must admit, it was very easy digging.

...and what a smart plant, pulling itself deeper into the ground. Gotta love that!

Hi and WELCOME Sall20! Isn't this a great place? I just discovered it recently myself!

Since you all seem to be experts in this Crinum thing.... is a "Spider Lily" a crinum?

Is THIS a crinum? It's taller than me (I'm 5'7")...

Gorgeous, Patty & welcome! Somebody should know...

that looks like crinum, but we have to see a picture of the blooms to try to ID it further. It may be one of the giant crinum or spider lilies, as they are at times called. Plants Delight sells Crinum x augustum (Augustum Giant Crinum Lily) that gets to be 60" tall.

Thanks! As soon as it's blooming again I will take more pictures.

Hi Patty and welcome to ATP! I believe what you have is a crinum pedunculatum, also known as a crinum asiaticum var. pedunculatum. This is the flower from ATP's database:
Mine is only a baby grown from seed, maybe 2 and 1/2 ft tall so far, has not bloomed. It has a ways to go yet.

We are looking forward to seeing your blooms!

Thanks Kabby! I don't think that's the right one though...my blooms don't look anything like that. They don't have those purpe 'hairs' and they have lots more petals. When I get a chance I'll check my photo files to see if I've captured any blooms from it...

My bulbs have perked up enthusiastically! I added a brick border, and some little Portulaca amilis plants. And you can't see them, but there's also now an outer ring of little white daffodils & Lycoris radiata (red spider lily,) under/around where the Portulaca is. This spot now has 4 times when there should be blooms, counting the Portulaca.

This is Summer Nocturne. I waited 5 years for a bloom! I received it as a bonus plant when I ordered another crinum. It was very small and in the dry soil in Austin didn't grow very fast. I dug it up last fall and put it in a pot for the move to Houston this spring. It is still in the pot, but I guess it loved all the rain we had in the spring and probably also the increase in humidity. It's naturally a smaller plant, so I'm going to move it to a very large pot that I have and see how it does.

We've been having a LOT of rain lately, with more in the forcast for this whole week...my plant has a stalk of blooms on it...I don't know if this is open enough to help with the ID I've asked for help with...








Soooooo...crinum? Spider lily? What's the difference between them anyway? And, as stated before, this clump pf plants is HUGE...taller than me (I am 5'6") and the seeds it makes are the size of chestnuts!

I can take more pictures as more of the flowers open (if they don't drown first! lol!)

for your ID help!

Kabby, I guess I didn't remember so well...they DO seem to have those purple 'hairs', and the same number of petals as the pic you posted....I didn't even remember them being 'curly' like they are till I saw it open! My old-timers is kicking in I guess....

Sure looks like the Crinum asiaticum to me. They do get huge and will have these enormous seed pods. The C. Americanum has a similar flower but the plant itself is much smaller.

Can't help with the ID, but those are stunning, Patty! Love!!