This bulbous perennial is bearing a mass of flower on the Systematic Beds.
A member of the daffodil family, Amaryllidaceae, Crinum x powellii is a hybrid of the South African Crinum bulbispermum and C. moorei. It is a deciduous species growing to 1.5 m in height, which enjoys a hot, well-drained position in full sun. Mature bulbs can be up to 15 cm in diameter, and these should be planted with their necks protruding above the soil’s surface to encourage ripening of the bulb, and subsequent flowering. Trumpet-shaped pink flowers are held in umbels aloft leafless stems (or scapes), and the fleshy, strappy foliage is often arching in habit. The genus name comes from the Greek word krinon meaning lily, while the specific name commemorates the Irish/English businessman C. B. Powell (1830-1904) who introduced this bulb into cultivation in the mid-1850’s.