Crinum foetidum and water

P. C. Andrews pcamusa@hotmail.com
Mon, 14 Aug 2006 07:04:47 PDT
While I haven't tried this experiment, our rainfall can change dramatically 
from year to year and month to month.  My experience has been that during 
summers of abundant, regular rainfall, many hybrid crinums send up larger 
numbers of scapes over longer periods of time, although this seems to vary 
from one hybrid to another.  During scant rainfall the scapes are generally 
more scarce and in extended droughts only a couple will attempt to send up 
(usually truncated) scapes.  My crinums are all grown in sand supplemented 
by mulch, so the drainage is generally excellent and it would be nearly 
impossible to overwater them.  Perhaps I should put a couple of them on the 
drip irrigation next summer and count the scapes.
Regards,
-Phil




>From: "Joe Shaw" <jshaw@opuntiads.com>
>Reply-To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
>To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
>Subject: Re: [pbs] Crinum foetidum and water
>Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 12:38:30 -0500
>
>-------------------
>I think it would be a mistake to water well all species of Crinum. The
>amount they need depends on the species. Crinum foetidum, as an example, I
>found growing at Victoria Falls, in very very dry soil which was also very
>compacted, being in a path from the station to the village.
>-----------------
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>Hi Gang,
>
>
>
>That sure sounds like one tough plant, compacted and shallow soil, and not
>much water.
>
>
>
>I can't comment directly on C. foetidum, but generally speaking, many 
>plants
>have 2 or 3 life phases.  Thus, as seeds and seedlings they need conditions
>that they may not encounter often as adults.
>
>
>
>As a general rule, succulent plants (including bulbs from arid areas) need
>gentle conditions during the period when they are establishing.  In the
>American West, for certain cacti, such periods might be 2 or 3 wet years in
>succession, with mild winters as well.  Some seem to require such 
>conditions
>and then 2 or 3 dry years (to kill competitors like grasses), followed by
>another few wet years in order to really get established.
>
>
>
>However, once established cacti can go 2-3 years without rain, and much
>longer with just a bit of rain.  Such plants may not flower, or they may
>flower and set seed poorly, but they are alive and ready to produce when a
>good year comes along.
>
>
>
>Many bulbs of dry lands can often be found in situations that are quite wet
>sometimes, clay pans and local areas of water runoff.  Of course, in really
>dry areas, the wet condition is not obvious most of the time and may not
>occur some years.  Bulbs are a storage device, storing food and water, or
>perhaps rare trace elements.  How much of which and in what proportions 
>will
>depend upon the bulb type and growing conditions.  Cacti (or succulent leaf
>plants) similarly are storage devices, but they have evolved different
>storage organs.
>
>
>
>Many cacti don't mind water, per se, if they have good drainage.  In fact,
>they often achieve unnatural (and sometimes ugly) growth if they have too
>much water, such as here in my garden.  This area may receive 40-60 inches
>of rain per year; in contrast some species I grow come from areas with 5-25
>inches of rain per year.  Also, precipitation is pretty much a year round
>thing here, whereas desert areas may go 5 months or 10 months between 
>rains.
>
>
>
>I think that many bulbs will tolerate water even if they don't require it,
>but prolonged soggy soil can lead to many problems.  Therefore, bulbs from
>dry areas will obviously benefit from excellent drainage if they are 
>getting
>too much water.  They may even benefit from other provisions such as more
>perlite and stones (and less humus) so that less water is held in soil 
>after
>gravity removes what it can.
>
>
>
>Even if a lot of care is taken with cacti, they can suffer from root rot
>when grown where rains occur year-round.  I combat this by doing several
>things:  1)  I never water mature plants (they get too much water as it 
>is),
>2) I plant them in nearly pure scoria, sand, and perlite, with only a trace
>of humus, and 3) I apply lawn fungicides to surface of the cactus pots 
>(just
>as I would apply to a lawn, but more heavily).  I like myclobutanil because
>it has low toxicity for me, because it breaks down soon enough, and because
>it is a systemic fungicide.
>
>
>
>Back to bulbs:  bulbs from very arid places may utilize more water than we
>can suppose.  However, extra irrigation can result in a garden "look" as
>opposed to a wild look.  Also, bulbs from arid areas can be predicted to
>require not-so-horrible conditions during their seedling stage.
>
>
>
>Bulbs may require a drought-induced dormancy to bloom.  So, extra water in
>summer may be fine but it may not be helpful for blooming.  I have looked
>but can find no literature out there (help me gang) where it has been
>determined if C. foetidum requires a drought, or cold, or something else to
>bloom.   I'm under the impression that C. foetidum plants will bloom in
>South African gardens where conditions are not as it might find in the 
>wild.
>
>
>
>Finally, it needs to be mentioned, that lessons extrapolated from other
>succulents do not necessarily apply to Crinum (or other bulb plants).  I
>guess we all make our way in the garden or greenhouse, improvising as we 
>go.
>
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>
>Cordially,
>
>
>
>
>
>Joe
>
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>
>
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