PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Crinum flaccidum
Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Crinum flaccidum

Crinum flaccidum

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitBulb
Growth—

Crinum flaccidum is a plant mainly of warm temperate to subtropical areas in Australia, just extending into the tropical zone. Plants can only tolerate the lightest frosts when in active growth, and are unlikely to succeed outdoors in any but the mildest regions of the temperate zone. They will require winter protection in all but the mildest areas of the temperate zone, though often a good mulch of dry bracken might be sufficient[PFAF]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade, requiring a well-drained soil[1]. Requires a rich well-drained soil in a sheltered sunny position[2, 3]. Only plant out good sized bulbs, do so in late spring, and plant them quite deeply in the soil[2]. The bulbs are sensitive to transplanting and may take several years to establish[4]. After this, they will usually reproduce rapidly from offsets to produce the overcrowded conditions that stimulate them to flower freely[4]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[5]. It is possible that other members of this genus will also provide edible bulbs[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+flaccidum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants — Ahmed Fayaz · Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand · 2011 · ISBN 978-1-55407-489 ↩︎A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
  2. [2]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 ]).
  3. [3]Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants — Grey. C. H. · Williams & Norgate. · 1938 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
  7. [7]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  8. [8]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎