Wednesday 13 July 2011

Cardiocrinum giganteum


Flowering now in the Lower Stream Garden. This really is the cat's pyjamas, with spectacular lily-like flowers and huge glossy leaves erupting from below! I’ve seen these displayed quite brilliantly at Dunham Massey in Cheshire, visitors there frequently pinch the seed heads, but little do they know this beauty takes seven years to flower! Here we propagate them each year to keep the succession going; like Foxgolves, only painfully longer.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

A beautiful photo, what digital camera gives this great definition?

Helen O'Donnell said...

This was the mystery plant that I was carefully raking around! Incredible! So do you plant out new ones every year? Will they flower again in the 8th year?

Vesna Maric said...

I saw them in Kew gardens during my internship. I bought some seeds two years ago, but none of them germinated. I would be very grateful if you could give me any tip on propagating it. I know it takes years to flower but the result is amazing. Have a nice day, Vesna

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

What in interesting plant. And what an interesting job you have, my friend.

Thanks for sharing all these images with us.

Bertie Bainbridge said...

Anon - I use a Fujifilm 12 megapixel camera that fits in my trouser pocket. I take the majority of my photographs while at work so I need something easy to carry that can just be whipped out at a moments notice!

Helen - There is no 8th year as they die after flowering! End on a high!

Vesna - These chaps are like some of the Scabiosa in that they need to be stratified, so we sow fresh seed in the autumn and then the seed trays go out into the cold frame over the winter to get that cold blast on them which triggers germination. Also when the plant dies it leaves behind several off shoots which can be separated and grown on, obviously taking less than seven years to reach flowering! Hope this helps!

Diane - What ho!

Bertie

Janet said...

How do you propagate them Bertie? I got the original plants from Cluny Gardens and they are flowering and producing off shoots. They let them self seed. What do you do? Thanks Janet

Bertie Bainbridge said...

Janet after it flowers and sets seed, break off the flowering stem and then dig up the crown to separate the off shoots, which you can then replant individually. These should then flower in a couple of years! You could let it self seed but it may be best to edit the seedlings that come up, thinning them out or repositioning them. The leaves get huge so each plant will need a bit of space to develop! Hope this helps.

Bertie

Vesna Maric said...

Thank you for the tips on sowing Cadiocrinum.

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