Riverbanks Botanical Garden is home to a large collection of Crinum lilies, more commonly known to some as milk and wine lilies. In fact, the Garden grows and maintains more than 100 different species and hybrids of Crinums.
Crinum is a genus of bulbous plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. Long heralded by seasoned plant collectors for their large blooms and low maintenance, Crinums have evolved from being somewhat obscure into a well respected landscape plant.
The Collection Garden at Riverbanks features a number of Crinum species and hybrids. Crinums also are incorporated into a number of other plantings in the Garden to show how easily they can be integrated with annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs.
While some Crinums will bloom in early spring or even late autumn, the peak flowering time is in early-mid summer. Crinum flowers come in a host of colors: whites, reds, pinks and striped variations. Crinum bulbs are typically quite large; mature bulbs of some varieties can easily eclipse the size of a softball.