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DESCRIPTION:

Peachblow Improved is without question one of the most beautiful crinum bulbs in existence! The flowers are stunning and very fragrant, the scape is tall, stately and does not flop over like some crinum and even the leaves look nice when it is not in bloom and stay green all winter even though temperatures drop into the low 20's. Here in northeast Florida, zone 9, ours bloom from April to at least October, a very long time for a crinum which typically only bloom 1-3 months.

The beautiful pink coral blush flower tips recurve about 540 degrees, adding a very formal and delicate appearance. A mature bulb will produce multiple scapes each year about 42-48" tall with 11 or 12 flowers per scape. Large bulbs will offset moderately forming several new bulbs each year which will allow you, in time, to have a nice grouping of bulbs. Crinum bulbs live for decades, so they are certainly one of the best plant investments you can make for generations of enjoyment. If left undisturbed, it will form a large, beautiful clump of bulbs, but most people remove the offsets every few years and replant them. You can just dig around the mother bulb and carefully pull off the offsets without removing the mother bulb.

The pollen is fertile when put on other seed-producing crinum, but it will not form seeds. An interesting trait is that the pistil/stigma is entirely missing on some flowers.

It is one of the taller of the more than 1000 different crinum in our collection, including about 350 of our own hybrids. It is certainly one of the most attractive and on our Top 10 list, for sure! We value a mature, Improved Peachblow bulb at $200-250. Even smaller bulbs like this are still rare and expensive, only traded among specialized crinum collectors.

BACKGROUND:

An immense improvement over the original version of peachblow which was (C. americanum X C. Album), Patrick Malcolm crossed the South American cousin of americanum, erubescens, with Album (usually, but improperly, called Yemense, which is a rare species not in his possession) to get what is known as Improved Peachblow'. Scott Ogden, in his book "Garden Bulbs For The South" (a great book for bulb lovers with lots of color plates) says about the original Peachblow, "Peachblow survived from a bed of seedlings planted by T. L. Mead of Oviedo, FL around 1900. Mead had imported about 100 crinum from India and made crosses. It had tall stems with huge, pink-white, scented blooms. Although somewhat tender...it is one of the most beautiful crinum, with an exotic appeal similar to 'Empress of India'."

GROWING CONDITIONS:

This is a semi-hardy and easy to grow bulb requiring no special care. It tolerates a wide range of soils and cool temperatures, at least to zone 8. They should do best planted in the ground in full sun or partial shade, but they will also make excellent container plants. They can survive nicely out of the ground for very extended periods if allowed to dry.

DESCRIPTION OF ITEM FOR BID:

You are bidding on a small-size bulb at least 1 year old and about 1" in diameter that will bloom within 3 years. Bulbs will be freshly dug, and will be shipped bare root.

WE SIZE OUR BULBS APPROXIMATELY BY AGE AS FOLLOWS: A few varieties can take 6 years or more to bloom.

Jumbo bulb – has bloomed at least 2 years, close to the maximum size for that particular plant (6+ years old)

Large bulb - should bloom this year or next (3+ years old, close to, or at blooming size)

Medium bulb - should bloom in 1-2 years (at least 2 years old)

Small bulb - should bloom 2-4 years (current year or 1-2 year old offset)

Seedling bulb - started from seed (usually in its first year of growth unless otherwise stated)

PHOTOS/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

These are pictures of our plants, so you know exactly what they look like and what you will receive. The photos show the plant in various stages of growth. Please feel free to contact us for additional information, and click on "Me" following our star rating. Also, we invite you to go to our store (little red door) and look at other items we have for sale.