Dear Ernie and all, Crinum x powellii album is far superior from typical x powellii. Very hardy here and reliable even in drought years. Takes a few years to settle in. I really have to put in a HUGE plug for 'Super Ellen’. The old ‘Ellen Bousanquet’ is not hardy here at all. A couple years and then a cold winter gets it. I’ve had 'Super Ellen' for a number of years .Now the flower stalks are at eye height ( 6 ft + or -), huge richly colored flowers and long lasting. At one time this season I had a dozen stalks in the clump in bloom all at once. WOW. Came through cold and heat equally well, but give it a lot of room. Leaves splay out 6 or more feet in each directionamd huge flower stalks. I LOVE IT and heartily recommend it. Give it some room and time- some extra water now and then and fertilizer and you will hopefully be thrilled too. Hard to believe this is a totally hardy perennial here in Kansas City on the prairie. Jim W. > On Jul 15, 2015, at 8:57 PM, Ernie DeMarie via pbs <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> wrote: > > Hi Bob, > I did lose a C x powellii in my school garden that had lasted several years (it was a pink one, not a great flower) but the C x powellii album bulb I got last year and put in one of my home gardens survived. I can't say it is as vigorous as the bulbispermums but maybe it needs time to settle down as crinums sometimes do when they lose roots. I also planted a small "Super Ellen" not far from the house wall, I want to see it make a huge flower spike one day like it is supposed to be able to do, it sounds like a massive plant and since it was backcrossed onto bulbispermum I think, it has a good chance of being hardy, and it is in a protected spot anyway. > Ernie > > > > > Both Crinum > bulbispermum and C. x powellii are perfectly hardy in Denver. It never rains in > the winter here. > (One of the main reasons why I like bulbs so much is that > they sensibly hide underground for most of the year.) > Bob Nold > Denver, Colorado > USA > The damage to woody plants from the November blast, 17C one day, –25C two > days later, was such that many will not recover. > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing > list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ James Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 USA Phone 816-746-1949 _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/