Daryl 'Dash' Geoghegan wrote: >Do you know anyone in the States growing Crinum for cut flowers? I hear >the they are sold in the flower market over there. Can anyone help out >with information on this subject please? Dash, I never saw a Crinum sold as a cut flower in the United States, but I don't spend much time in flower markets either and as you know, it is a big country. I have read in T.M. Howard's "Bulbs for Warm Climates" that Crinum x powellii 'Album' are grown by the millions in Mexico for use in wedding flower arrangements. Crinum, for all of their beauty and ease of culture (at least in my climate), are not what I would call common items in gardens in the Southeastern United States either. The only place I see many Crinum is in Florida, and then usually it is the gigantic C. asiaticum or red leafed C. procerum used like a shrub in commercial landscaping. Certainly there are plenty of Crinum lovers and collectors in this country, but my observation is that Crinum are still below the radar of the general gardening public, even where they are winter hardy and easily grown. The reasons for this are unknown to me but I suspect two problems. First is that the cold tolerance for many Crinum has been underestimated by most literature. Second is that the bulbs are expensive relative to other herbaceous perennials. However, when considering that many multiply well, will outlive the gardener who planted them, getting better each and every year, providing a lifetime of enjoyment, Crinum are a bargain. Regards, Jay Yourch Central North Carolina, USA (USDA Zone 7)