A Tale of Two Crinums

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... No, not that tale, but continuing with that theme, its flowers are white with red stripes, its flowers are red with white edges. The red and white flowers I'm referring to are those of Crinum × herbertii, those tough hybrids of Crinum bulbispermum and Crinum scabrum, whose peak season in the garden is rapidly approaching.

'Schreck' kicked off the season a couple of weeks ago and is getting ready to bloom again, and there are scapes rising on 'Carroll Abbott' and just about every other Crinum × herbertii in the garden. This post will focus on two that are blooming now, one with an unfortunate name, and another with no name, but deserving a good one.

The one with the unfortunate name is 'Pat's Herbertia'. It's unfortunate because Herbertia is the name of an IBS publication, also the name of a genus in the Iris family, while herbertii is the name used for hybrids between C. bulbispermum and C. scabrum. Why its hybridizer, Patrick Malcolm, mixed up these names is unclear, but despite the name, it's a good plant.

When hybridizing Crinum species, unless the seed and pollen parents are very closely related, the resulting F1 hybrids cannot form seeds. Like mules, they're sterile. The comparison with mules is not completely accurate, because the pollen of F1 Crinum hybrids is often viable.

That's what happened with 'Pat's Herbertia', it's a backcross, obtained by transferring pollen from a Crinum × herbertii flower to a Crinum bulbispermum flower. Note that while most Crinum × herbertii are half Crinum bulbispermum and half Crinum scabrum, 'Pat's Herbertia' is three quarters Crinum bulbispermum and one quarter Crinum scabrum, and like many Crinum backcrosses, it is capable of forming seeds.

In addition to having seed fertility, 'Pat's Herbertia' differs from most Crinum × herbertii by its large size, with scapes taller than 5 feet (1.5 m), and its extra glaucous leaves. My only real complaint is that it has very long floral tubes, resulting in flowers that are extra droopy during the hottest part of the day, recovering their posture in the evening.

Crinum 'Pat's Herbertia'

The other Crinum × herbertii doesn't have a name yet, but it's a great plant and really needs one. A clump of it was found in Greenwood Cemetery and after seeking permission from the clump's "owner", who for the record didn't say no, an offset was removed. It turned out to be a vigorous Crinum × herbertii with large, pink striped flowers. Another nice feature is that its flowers face upright and hold their posture well even during the heat of the day.

This excellent Crinum does not match the description of any named Crinum × herbertii, so it's in need of a name. It could be given the name on the headstone where it was found, or if that's not possible, perhaps naming it 'Greenwood' or 'Greenwood Cemetery' is appropriate.

Crinum × herbertii found in Greenwood Cemetery

Strange Alocasias

Alocasia, along with Colocasia, Xanthosoma, and other genera with large leaves in the Arum (Araceae) family, are commonly called Elephant's Ear. While I grow A. odora and A. macrorrhiza with huge leaves that earn them the common name Elephant's Ear, I also grow some with smaller and even stranger foliage.

Alocasia × amazonica has very dark green, almost black, glossy leaves with raised silvery veins and undulating margins, reminding me of a bat's wing. If billionaire Bruce Wayne ever hires me to design a landscape for the entrance to the Batcave (don't worry Bruce, your secret is safe with me) this plant would be on my short list.

Alocasia × amazonica

Alocasia cuprea is another strange one with silvery green leaves and deeply impressed dark veins, giving it the look of hammered metal. While the previous plant would appeal to Batman, A. cuprea would appeal to Lieutenant Commander Worf because its leaves look just like a Klingon's forehead. Just as strange, the backs of the leaves are a rich, reddish purple.

Alocasia cuprea

Alocasia rugosa is the smallest of the three and may be the strangest. Its stiff, textured, dark green leaves have the look and feel of plastic. Be sure to click on the close-up to get a good look at the details of the leaf texture. Although I bought one, I'd hate to make a living selling them. I can imagine a customer asking me, "Why should I buy your plant when I can get one stamped out of plastic that looks the same, requires no care, and costs a tenth of what you're asking?"

Alocasia rugosa

Night and Day

Two primroses are blooming in my garden now and they are as different as - well, as different as night and day.

Oenothera speciosa, commonly known as pink evening primrose, opens its petals when night starts to fall. The bowl-shaped blooms face skyward and are a lovely pale pink nearly 2 inches across. Each flower lasts only a day but the plants have a long blooming season. Distinctive features of primroses are the crosslike stigma and four-petaled flowers. This primrose grows 8 - 24 inches high and spreads to 15 inches.

Native to rocky prairies, they encompass a much broader region now. They thrive in poor soil and are a beautiful sight along our southeast Missouri roadsides in late spring. These plants can be used in a wide variety of semi-wild garden settings but they are best planted where you don’t mind them spreading as they can quickly crowd out nearby plants.

Its cousin, Oenothera fruticosa, commonly called sundrops, opens in sunshine and closes at dusk. Deep green leaves are topped by clusters of bright clear yellow flowers, from 1- 2 inches across. Its flowers also last but a day but the blooming season spans several weeks. It grows from 12 - 36 inches high.

Tolerant of poor soil and quite drought-resistant, sundrops are fussy about well-drained soil and full sun. Their sturdy, tidy stems and leaves are in contrast to the pink evening primrose whose foliage is rather coarse and sprawling.

Night or day. Take your pick – or better yet, grow both. They’re sure to catch your eye and make you smile!

Crinum 'Schreck'

Crinum 'Schreck' displayed excellent timing this year by blooming the same weekend the new Shrek movie opened. 'Schreck' was named by Marcelle Sheppard, who got it from the Schreck family of Vidor, Texas, by the way of her friend, Ruth Dubuisson.

While we don't know the history of the plant before it was found in the Schreck garden, we can be fairly sure that it is a Crinum × herbertii hybrid, the result of crossing Crinum bulbispermum with Crinum scabrum. These hybrids, called milk and wine lilies in the South, can be extremely variable for plant size, flower size and shape, and the degree of striping found on the petals.

'Schreck' is a good example of a medium sized Crinum × herbertii, with well-defined red stripes on nicely shaped flowers. Some have suggested that it's the same plant as 'Carroll Abbott', but I've found consistent observable differences and don't think so.

Hardy Geraniums

Another group of perennials that bloom in the garden during May is the Geraniums. To avoid confusion with the popular tender plants in the genus Pelargonium, which also go by the common name Geranium, plants in the genus Geranium are sometimes called Hardy Geranium or Cranesbill.

Geraniums generally prefer cooler temperatures than I can provide for them here in central North Carolina, but there are a few that have proved to be satisfactory in this climate. Geraniums give their best performance here when planted in partial shade with moist, well-drained soils, although Geranium sanguineum can take more sun and less moisture and still perform adequately. The native wildflower, Geranium maculatum, blooms in April along the edge of the forest, but I didn't photograph them so they won't be featured in this post.

Bloody Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) is the species that's most commonly seen in southern gardens. It has attractive, finely textured, palmately lobed, glossy, dark green foliage which often turns red in late autumn and persists for most of the winter.

Foliage of Geranium sanguineum

The most common flower color is rich magenta, which I like, but some gardeners find it a bit loud.

Typical flower color of Geranium sanguineum

I have two other cultivars of Geranium sanguineum with more subdued flower colors. The first is named 'Prostratum' (var. striatum) and it has light pink flowers with darker veins on short compact plants that make a nice, low groundcover.

Close-up of Geranium sanguineum 'Prostratum'

Geranium sanguineum 'Prostratum' habit

The other cultivar of Geranium sanguineum growing in the garden is 'Album', with white flowers.

Close-up of Geranium sanguineum 'Album'

Another species that does well in the garden is Bigroot Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum). Its flowers are smaller than those of Geranium sanguineum, but its leaves are much larger and fuzzy, releasing a medicinal odor when touched. It's also mostly evergreen, with some leaves taking on red and purple coloration during the winter.

Close-up of Geranium macrorrhizum

Foliage of Geranium macrorrhizum

Cranesbill, a reference to the beak-like fruits, is the other common name for plants in the genus Geranium.

Beak-like fruits of Geranium macrorrhizum

My favorite Geranium is a hybrid of G. himalayense × G. wallichianum 'Buxton's Variety' named 'Rozanne'. It's my favorite because its large, pretty blue flowers begin blooming in May and continue until frost shuts them down in November. It also has attractive lobed foliage, but unlike the others it's completely deciduous in our climate. It's also sterile, which partially explains its long bloom season. The others seed around a bit, not aggressively, but 'Rozanne' never does.

Close-up of Geranium 'Rozanne'

Foliage of Geranium 'Rozanne'

Calla Lilies

The calla lilies (Zantedeschia) are putting on a nice show in the garden right now. I have 2 cultivars of the White Calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica), the huge 'White Giant' and the dwarf 'Child's Perfection', and a hybrid calla lily with deep yellow flowers named 'Millennium Gold'.

'Child's Perfection' (aka 'Childsiana') is the dwarf (about 18 inches tall) and I've grown it for about 5 years. It performs best with moist soils and partially shaded conditions that would suit most hostas. If potted and submerged in a garden pond it can take full sun, but in the garden partial shade keeps the foliage looking better during the hottest weather. Their thick, glossy, dark green foliage emerges early in the spring and they bloom a little in April, peaking in May. They sulk during the hottest part of the summer and many of the older leaves turn yellow and collapse. As autumn approaches they become invigorated by the cooler temperatures and produce lots of new, attractive foliage.

Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Child's Perfection'

Calla lilies with daddy-long-legs (Opiliones)

'Millennium Gold' (aka 'Yellow Mammoth') is a recent acquisition, so I can't say much about its long term performance. It has very showy, deep yellow flowers on 18 inch stems and attractive spotted foliage.

Zantedeschia 'Millennium Gold'

'White Giant' is a new addition to the garden this spring and not too impressive yet, so no photos of it in this post. It has white flowers and spotted leaves and is known to grow to 7 feet tall. I've planted it in very moist soil with full sun and so far it's happy and growing.

A visit from "The Bulb Hunter"

This week, Chris Wiesinger, founder of The Southern Bulb Company, paid a visit to me and the garden. He had a talk at Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina over the weekend and, fortunately for me, decided to stay for a few days and visit some Carolina Crinum growers before heading back to Texas.

Last July, The New York Times published an article, The Bulb Hunter (subscription required), about Chris and his business of finding, growing, and marketing heirloom bulbs that grow well in the Southern United States. After reading the article I contacted him via e-mail and he responded enthusiastically, having known about me through my efforts on the Pacific Bulb Society Wiki to describe and photograph other old favorite southern bulbs, Crinums and their hybrids. During that e-mail exchange I had extended an open invitation for a garden tour and when a speaking engagement brought him to central North Carolina he took me up on it.

Chris was enthusiastic about all kinds of garden plants, not just bulbs, and the time I spent with him was enjoyable. After the garden tour, during which he shot dozens of photographs, we decided to check out the creek behind the house. He was equally enthusiastic about the huge trees and boulders, as well as the diversity of native plants that grow alongside the creek and I think he took as many photographs of the scenery there as he did in the garden.

We ended our visit promising to share and I'll be putting together a box of bulbs to send to Chris soon. I would have liked to have visited longer, but I had an appointment early in the afternoon and couldn't manage it. Hopefully he will return for another visit someday and see how some of the newly planted Crinums and other bulbs have grown. While Chris shot lots of pictures during our visit and displayed some of them on a blog post he wrote about his visit, I didn't take many, but did get one picture of him posing next to Crinum 'Carnival'.