CRINUM 



THE BULB BOOK 



CRINUM 



leaves, more or less funnel-shaped 

 flowers in umbels on a stout, fleshy 

 stalk or peduncle. They are found in 

 widely different parts of the world, 

 being distributed over Tropical Asia, 

 Tropical America, Tropical Africa, 

 Australia, Polynesia, and South 

 Africa. 



CuLTUEE. — With few exceptions, 

 most of the Crinums require to be 

 grown in warmth and moisture 

 throughout the year. They are all 

 noble plants. Even when not in 

 blossom the foliage alone is orna- 

 mental, and wherever space is avail- 

 able, it is worth while to mass a few 

 plants in borders in the stove or warm 

 greenhouse. Coming from aU parts 

 of the tropical and subtropical world, 

 and from various altitudes and situa- 

 tions, a little judgment must be 

 exercised in regard to the cultural 

 treatment given to the different 

 species. Generally speaking, all 

 Crinums like to grow in a mixture of 

 rich loam, peat, and leaf -soil, and a 

 fair sprinkling of coarse sand or grit. 

 During rapid growth, readily recog- 

 nised by the appearance of new leaves, 

 they like plenty of water at the roots, 

 and a syringing with tepid water two 

 or three times a day during the 

 summer months is also highly bene- 

 ficial. It freshens up the foliage, and 

 at the same time keeps it free from 

 disease and dirt. Although the great 

 majority are evergreen, there is a 

 period of rest when no growth is 

 made. Then the plants require but 

 little water at the root, and it will 

 generally be suflScient to syringe 

 the plants occasionally, the water 

 thus running down the channelled 

 faces of the leaves to the bulbs and 

 roots. 



The plants may be grown either in 

 pots or planted out in borders under, 

 glass. The pots should never be much 

 larger than the bulbs, and they should 



be well-drained in all cases by putting 

 plenty of broken "crocks" or pot- 

 sherds in the bottom, afterwards 

 covering these with a layer of moss 

 or fibre before filling in with soil. 



Crinums are easily propagated, 

 either by detaching the offsets, which 

 in some species are produced freely 

 around the old bulbs, or by means of 

 the large, irregular, fleshy fruit or seed 

 that often follows the flowers. The 

 offsets are simply potted up or planted 



154 



Fig. 100. — Crinum, seedlin] 



out and grown on until they reach 

 the flowering stage, after which they 

 in turn produce other offsets and 

 seeds. When seeds are sown, the 

 large fleshy fruits are placed on the 

 moist sandy soil, or slightly buried. 

 A short fleshy radicle is soon thrown 

 out, and then ceases to grow, as in 

 other monocotyledons. Fleshy roots 

 soon develop into the soil, and the 

 first leafy growth shoots upwards— 

 as shown in the sketch. The second 

 or third season the plants are quite 



