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Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Crinum bulbispermum

Crinum bulbispermum

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

One report says that the plant is toxic to mammals, but gives no indication as to the degree of toxicity.

Cultivation Details

HabitBulb
Growth—

Easily grown in a moist soil or the garden border[1]. Requires a rich well-drained soil in a warm sheltered sunny position[2]. Plants are only hardy in the milder areas of the country, tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c[1]. It is probable that the plants may require winter protection with dry leaves or bracken[1]. Bulbs are sensitive to transplanting and may take several years to establish[3]. After this, they will usually reproduce rapidly from offsets to produce the overcrowded conditions that stimulate them to flower freely[3]. The bulbs should be planted with their necks above soil level[4]. This conflicts with another report which says that they should be planted quite deeply in the soil[5]. Only plant out good sized bulbs and do so at the end of May[5]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[4]. The flowers emit a sweet, somewhat spicy odour which is especially pronounced at nightfall[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, placing 2 - 3 seeds in individual pots in a greenhouse. Do not cover the seed. Sow stored seed mid spring in a warm greenhouse. Once they have germinated, you can thin each pot to just one plant if required, though we have not found this to be necessary. Give an occasional liquid feed to ensure that the plants do not suffer nutritional deficiencies. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first 2 years, planting them out into their permanent positions in the spring. Division of offsets in mid spring or in September. When divided in the spring, the bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, if done in September, however, they should be potted up and overwintered in the greenhouse. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Crinum+bulbispermum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Bulbs — Phillips. R. and Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30253-1 ↩︎Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.
  2. [2]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  5. [5]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  6. [6]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎