× Amarcrinum For several years I’ve been watching a planting of × Amarcrinum in a local garden. I had an errand in that neighborhood today, and I took my camera with me in case the plants were in bloom. Yes they were! And by the looks of it, they had been in bloom for a while – there were scapes present with nothing but the remains of spent blooms. At the same time, there were scapes which had only recently emerged and whose buds had not yet opened. There are several things about this plant which recommend it strongly for our zone 7 eastern gardens. For one thing, it’s evidently hardy and reliable. For another, it does a good imitation of Amaryllis belladonna. It makes a nice compliment to Lycoris × squamigera because it begins to bloom as the Lycoris is quitting. In past years I’ve known this clump to be in bloom in late October – so it has a long potential blooming period. But best of all, it’s a good plant for small gardens – something I’m reluctant to say of most Crinum. Look at the foliage in the images linked below: compared to that of most Crinum it’s tidy. (After I wrote that, I checked the wiki and was pleased to see that whoever wrote the introduction to × Amarcrinum used exactly the same word). To judge by what I see on the PBS wiki, this one is ‘Fred Howard’. The owner of the garden where they grow received them years ago as “resurrection lilies” and he evidently had never heard of × Amarcrinum. If anyone would like to add any of these to the wiki, let me know. Take a look here: http://jimmckenney.com/x_amarcrinum_in_a_local_gar… Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/