Kristi my Royal Prince just finished blooming, so you I think you have your fragrant August bloomer!

How cool! I am still waiting on mine to bloom... Not sure why it has taken this August off for me Maybe it's like the watched pot never boiling.

Sometimes they do take time off. I have one crinum that bloomed this yr after I cut some limbs off a shady fig tree. It's probably been 5-6 yrs since the last bloom on that one.

Looking at the Plants Database, my Ellen Bosanquet hasn't bloomed in a couple years. But one year it all but drowned. And the next spring a katydid chewed up the leaves.

@Kabby Odd you mentioned cutting some limbs off and seeing blooms. I just read in the Texas Gardener magazine that Crinums won't deliver blooms in the shade. I have a few different types that haven't been blooming. That may be the problem here. Thanks for verifying it.

@tx_flower_child ~ at least you know why yours didn't bloom. What is your plan of attack for next year?

I didn't really have a plan of attack. After reading what the 2 of you just wrote, I think mine needs more sun. It's still in a huddle from last winter. Maybe I'll move it out for awhile. It's in a huge pot but I think it's on one of those wheely deals.

One year we had a ton of rain and I had 2 large planters with decent size bulbs in them. Unfortunately they were around the side of the house that at that time I didn't pay much attention to. One day I started to notice a really putrid smell. Yep. You guessed it. I've heard that crinums like swamps but they don't like to drown. So I put on some long gloves and reached into the muck and pulled out whatever I could find. Mostly mush. But yay! there were some 'pups' (probably more like teenagers) that survived. Thus I started over.

I'm not good at journaling but anytime I take a picture I get a date and time stamp. So I'm just guessing from the few pictures I've posted in the Plants Database as to when certain events took place. But that one crinum that I got in a trade produced a lot of BIG children. I sent a couple to a friend in FL, a couple to OKC, and maybe some to one other person. Memory fails me.

My older bro lives in OKC and was here for some doodah. He took a dorky picture of me with a crinum bulb that I was sending back with him. Think I deleted the picture. Anyway, that 1 crinum has really been good. Would be nice to see her bloom. Do y'all feed yours?

Spellcheck is really ticking me off. Every time my back is turned it changes 'crinum' to 'cranium'. Grr.

You caught all the craniums, chuckl, mine are looking awful this year. I have fertilized to no noticeable effect. I am blaming the dryness this year as I didn't take the effort to pamper them. My yard- well, the sweetgums have changed to yellow and leaves are falling hard enough it looks like October. A good crinum bulb can always be cut to double the bulb. Like an onion, as long as the bulb has a pportion of root it will grow. My oxblood lilies are coming up and starting to bloom now.

I've had one oxblood lily bloom. I'm not sure that there will be any more bloom, as I'm already seeing leaves on lots of the bulbs. They just aren't blooming well in this garden. They did very well in my Austin garden. I'm also wondering where my red spiders lilies are. I've seen some blooming around town, but no sign of mine yet. Not even leaves!

Crinums can thrive in a dry climate. My friend lives in far west TX and she has had lots of blooms this year. She says for her, the key is sun and a heavy rain, after a dry period. I do think that could be why some crinums don't bloom well in a garden setting. If kept consistently moist, there is nothing to trigger the bloom. Of course, this wouldn't apply to the swamp type ones.

Flower child I don't water nor fertilize my crinum. These are on the the south side of my house, full sun, but I have a cherry bark oak that will start shading it soon.
powellii Alba

Milk and wine and Sun Bonnet

Summer Nocturne

On the west side of my house my crinum are between tall gingers and do not bloom as much nor have near the size of these clumps. So sun is definitely needed.
My oxbloods have bloomed and died back, haven't looked for spider lilies yet.

Our rainfall was last year, if hers are blooming it means her clump is doubling and has lots of vigorous younger bulbs.

My water issue was a few years ago. I think the problem now is that I have them in too much shade.

Kabby — yours look greate. Really a lot of leaves. How old are they? Are they in the ground or containers?

They are probably 20 yrs old and they are in the ground.

Spider lilies come in with the hurricanes- or rainy season. We haven't had a drop yet, I don't expect them this year