Added photos to Crinum and Zephyranthes pages

James Yourch yourch@nortelnetworks.com
Thu, 17 Jun 2004 13:38:56 PDT
Jim McKenney wrote:

>With respect to the use of Crinum as cut flowers: it seems to me that 
>the individual flowers of the Crinum I know are ephemeral - I mean 
>literally ephemeral. A single spathe will contain many, sometimes 
>dozens, of buds; but the individual flowers go fast. Or am I mistaken 
>about this: maybe the flowers droop during the day and firm up at 
>night?
>
>Have others had the same experience?

Jim,

In my experience, most Crinum flowers last 2-3 days, although a few kinds
will open in the evening and wilt by the next morning.  With regards to how
long a scape will bloom, some Crinum open almost all of their flowers at
once (americanum) and others are more sequential (moorei).  Crinum with low
bud counts that open all at once will have scapes that last only a few days,
even if those few days are glorious.  I would say that most of my Crinums
have scapes that are attractive for about a week before all of the flowers
fade and they fall over, although I have had some last twice that long if
they bloom during cooler autumn weather.  In very hot weather, especially
while in the hot sun, Crinum flowers can partially wilt and then become
pretty again in the evening.  Most mature bulbs will produce multiple scapes
per year and a big clump containing many blooming size bulbs can remain in
bloom a long time, so even though the individual flowers may be short lived,
the show is not.

X Amarcrinum scapes, because of their longevity, would make better cut
flowers than Crinum in the same way that Nerine make better cut flowers than
Lycoris.  All of these plants have beautiful flowers that look great in a
vase, it is just a matter of how long they last.

Jay Yourch

Central North Carolina, USA (USDA Zone 7)


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