Crinum lily
Crinum x powellii ·
Clusters of large, fragrant, lily-like trumpets in pink or white on thick stems above a mass of long, strap-shaped leaves, in late summer. The bulbs grow as large as a football and live for generations.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early September
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around crinum lily
The planner designed this bed around crinum lily when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 7, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 977 that suit those conditions, and says below why crinum lily stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 26, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 3, pink
- 3 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 4 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 5, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sunset hyssop × 3, orange
- 7 Crinum lily × 1, white
- 8 Camassia × 2, blue
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are daisies, bells, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 4 ft it is seen over sunset hyssop (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
- Bold leaf against fine. Sunset hyssop is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From mid July to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet', switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' and sunset hyssop in late July: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, purple and blue) with yellow and orange as the warm notes, and white to calm things between them. The bold leaves of silver sage are set against the fine leaves of winter heath, the kind of contrast that keeps a bed from blurring.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where crinum lily goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
The lily of old southern gardens, where clumps outlive the houses they were planted beside. The foliage is untidy, so plant something bushy in front. Never move an established clump.
- A feature for southern gardens
- Moist soil and pond sides
- Fragrance in late summer
What to plant with crinum lily
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hardy hibiscus: in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; happy in the same moist soil.
- Canna: in flower together for nine weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
- Daylily: in flower together for five weeks, from mid July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; medium leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about crinum lily
Does crinum lily need sun or shade?
Crinum lily grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does crinum lily grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 10. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does crinum lily flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 7 | Early July to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 8 | Early July to early September |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should crinum lily be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many crinum lily plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is crinum lily poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten. The bulbs are the most poisonous part.
Is there a pet-safe plant like crinum lily?
These come closest to doing what crinum lily does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Pineapple lily 'Sparkling Burgundy': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; belongs in the middle, not at the back, 24 in shorter.
- Hardy hibiscus: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 12 in taller, 6 in wider.
- Sweet Joe Pye weed: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 24 in taller, 6 in wider.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after crinum lily?
Crinum lily is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Pink muhly grass: from mid September to early November, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Montauk daisy: from mid September to late October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does crinum lily look like in winter?
Crinum lily is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid July to early September; trumpets; pink, white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.