[medit-plants] Re: can someone help id this flower?

This is Crinum ×powellii (C. bulbispermum × C. moorei), the white flowered form usually called 'Alba' or 'Album'.  A fairly common 'pass-along' plant found in older garden around California, and other regions.  As Silke stated, it can indeed take a lot of dryness.  For all of its tropical look, it is a tough customer.

I know this planting - it is in Aquatic Park in Berkeley, which has a piece of the old San Francisco Bay shoreline cut off from the rest of the Bay by Hwy I-80, making a sort of lagoon.  It is open to the bay at points and therefore salt-water.  My wife and I walk near this planting regularly - I look forward to checking on it now that I know it is flowering!

It is some distance from the water and higher by a few feet, in full sun and exposed to wind.  The ground in this area is baked hard in summer (no irrigation) with all the surrounding grass/weeds drying off, but this clump of Crinum remains green (though a bit shabby).  The bulbs are very large and quite succulent.  With a little care, it makes a fine garden plant.


On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 8:54 AM, Redacted sender silke.bernau for DMARC <d*@freelists.org> wrote:


I second the Crinum, but I don't know enough to say which one. I have Crinum americanum and C. asiaticum in my garden and it's neither of those.


A propos of wet feet: I needed a plant for a south-facing position exposed to all-day, full HOT sun in rock-hard soil (coastal southern Spain, USDA zone 10b).


To my great surprise, my nurseryman recommended Crinum americanum, which is said to like wet feet -- but he insisted it would do well so I took the plunge. And, just as he said, it thrives. It gets minimal summer water -- not enough for damp toes, let alone wet feet. It hit the ground running and never broke stride. Some leaves initially were burnt but within a few weeks of planting (last April or May, I think), baby bulbs were popping up everywhere, and it actually flowered in August. I think, if allowed, it would eventually take over the garden and eat the house, so I'll be digging up and giving some bulbs away later this year!


Just thought I'd share this as an experience as it might be of interest or useful to other gardeners and not in any way to gainsay expert information. I am am new to gardening in this climate and it was a great lesson for me about trusting local advice even when it flatly contradicts the accepted information (to invert a well-worn phrase: verify but trust!).


S.
Malaga

________________________________
From: Bracey Tiede <t*@pacbell.net>
To: m*@freelists.org
Sent: Thursday, 9 March 2017, 17:13
Subject: [medit-plants] Re: can someone help id this flower?



Looks like a Crinum. Likes wet feet and yes, the lake is in Berkeley along Highway 80.

Cheers,
Bracey
San Jose CA

From:medit-plants-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:medit-plants-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Steven Vance
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2017 8:08 AM
To: h*@flpd567.prodigy.net
Subject: [medit-plants] can someone help id this flower?

A friend sent me this photo which she took with her phone while walking in Berkeley, California yesterday. I can't say that I recognize this plant nor can i recognize the location (a lake in Berkeley?) so I wonder if she might be incorrect.
I hope this image goes through the message limit.  I loaded the picture to my laptop in order to shrink it down. Why don't phones tell you the size of your images!
Steve


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