Matthew Stevens: Crinum lily is a landscape favorite that is reliably hardy

Although new plants are introduced into the landscape trade each year, there are some plants that have been a part of our landscapes reliably for years on end without ever falling out of favor.

There’s something familiar, even comforting perhaps, to have such consistency in our gardens. One such plant is the crinum lily, an amaryllis relative, that performs admirably in a number of landscape situations throughout the southeast.

Crinums are a bulb, just like amaryllis, and are reliable hardy from zones 7a to 10b. With most of Pitt County in hardiness zone 8a, that means crinum lilies will reliably survive our winters. Some gardeners will dig them up in the late fall regardless, as they do with dahlias and other bulbs. That shouldn’t be necessary unless grown in wet soils, as crinum is one of many bulbs that can be damaged in cold wet soils.

Grown primarily for their flowers, crinums have gorgeous blossoms that open atop a singular tall stalk in early to mid-summer. The bud atom each stalk opens to reveal multiple, six-petaled, lily-like flowers. Flowers are typically some shade of pink, red, or white. The cultivar ‘Milk and Wine’ is particularly notable for its lovely pink and white striped blossoms.

Crinums can tolerate a bit of shade, but will bloom best in full sun. They tolerate a wide range of soils, and are fairly drought tolerant, though they prefer to have adequate moisture and good drainage. Newly planted crinums may take a year or two to settle before they bloom. As the plants age, the bulbs will produce offsets, and thus clusters of bulbs can be divided every four to five years or so. This provides ample opportunity to fill in empty spaces elsewhere in your landscape or share plants with friends. Dividing is best performed during winter months, though it can be done at other times of the year with reasonable success.

The deep throated blossoms on crinum are favorites of hummingbirds and butterflies, so one could easily incorporate crinums into a pollinator themed garden. They are particularly attractive when planted in mass plantings, but also work well as edging or in borders. Foliage is similar to its relative amaryllis, with thick glossy green leaves that are long and slender. Although other landscape plants with this type of leaf shape, daylilies, for example, often look ragged by the end of summer, crinum lily foliage tends to hold up quite well and remains attractive through the end of fall.

Crinums have a few minor pest problems, but are generally quite easy to grow. They are remarkably salt tolerant, which makes them ideal for planting closer to the coast, but also makes them well suited to be planted near roads and driveways. They are mostly deer resistant likely due to the fact that all parts of the plant are mildly toxic, causing occasional gastric upset if ingested.