Crinum for the Fourth of July

In our fields and gardens, we have some crinum lily in flower from April first all through the summer all the way to mid November.

Jenks & Tom with a Selection of Red Crinum in July.

A different lily for every month. In our book, Gardening With Crinum Lilies 3, there’s a nifty chart showing what flowers when.

Always for the beginning of July, we have a few pale pinks left. But the heat brings on the bright and brilliant — the fireworks of crinum lilies.

Beware, all “red” crinum lilies are not the same.  Beware, A lot of the reds are not really different at all from their brothers.  What I mean is that there are dozens of different named varieties of reds. And lots of different price points. Some are really ‘rare’.  Well, lets say obscure.  They might even be expensive, but the truth is this; lots of the red crinum lilies look just like any other red.  So be discerning before you buy, read up, look for pictures, question where the pictures are taken (climate, date, time, even soil can subtly change colors).

And finally, lets admit that none of these are really red!  Even the stand-by, the stalwart of southern gardens, Crinum ‘Ellen Bousenquet’, isn’t really red.  But in crinum world, that’s what we call this deep pink, burgundy tinged color, so join us, our off-color lingo and love for red crinum lilies!

Here are few of my favorites and how they differ from each other.