Water krinum

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This beautiful plant has all incredible sizes: a bulb - up to 15 cm in diameter, extending into a long neck, a thick colored peduncle with a rich umbrella of funnel-shaped flowers - up to 1 m high, tubes of luxurious flowers blooming in the summer - up to 17 cm long. The flowers in the umbrella can be from 12 to 20-30, the marginal lobes of the corollas are narrow-lanceolate and bent. The leaves are evergreen, wide, drooping in all directions. Flowers last 4-5 weeks.

Homeland - South Africa. In nature, there are about 100 species. Krinum - a chic flowering plant is more suitable for growing in greenhouses and conservatories than in apartments. Not only because plants are huge, the main reason is the need for cold wintering. Bloom usually in July-September. Krinum does not lose leaves during the dormant period and does not tolerate leaf pruning.

Conditions for growing crinum

Temperature: During the growing season, an optimum of 17-20 ° C. During the rest period they are kept at 8-10 ° C in dryness.

Lighting: Bright diffused light. Shade from direct sunlight.

Watering: Abundant during flowering - the soil should be moist all the time. However, avoid waterlogging, krinum, like all amaryllis, is sensitive to excess moisture. During the rest period, watering is practically stopped, more precisely, it is watered very rarely so that the fleshy roots do not dry out at all.

Fertilizer: Once every two weeks with liquid fertilizer for flowering indoor plants, diluted in the concentration recommended by the manufacturer. Top dressing begins as soon as young leaves appear and end with the withering of the last flowers.

Air humidity: In summer, the leaves are periodically sprayed and wiped with a damp sponge.

Transfer: About once every 3-4 years, during the dormant period. Soil from 2 parts of clay-turf, 1 part of leafy soil, 1 part of humus, 1 part of peat and 1 part of sand. Add pieces of birch charcoal to the soil. The largest capacity for planting is chosen; for adult plants, these are usually tubs.

Reproduction: Child bulbs in the summer. When separating the bulbs, try not to damage the roots. Slices are treated with crushed coal. Young plants bloom only for 3-4 years.

Features of water krinums

Some crinums are more suitable for growing in a large aquarium or a greenhouse with a pond. It is, first of all, Krinum floating (Crinum natans) with floating leaves up to 1 m long and Crinum purpurascens, leaves of which have a more modest size - up to 30 cm. Less common Krinum Thai (Crinum thaianum). They are grown at a low water level in a pot with clay soil. The temperature in summer is desirable not lower than 25 ° C, and in winter it can be reduced to 18 ° C. Like other types of krinums, these aquatic plants prefer bright natural light. The water in which crinums are cultivated should be low in calcium.

Species that are grown in aquariums:

Krinum wavy (Crinum calamistratum)

This is an aquatic plant with an elongated bulb, 1-3 cm thick, up to 10 cm long - photo. The leaves are collected in a rosette, ribbon-shaped, slightly twisted, 70-100 (200) cm long, 0.2-0.7 cm wide, dark green; the edge of the sheet is wavy. Clear central vein. Peduncle up to 80 cm long, straight. Inflorescence up to 80 cm long with 1-3 flowers emitting aroma. Bract about 3.5 cm long. Flowers with a straight green tube near the flower garden, 10-12 cm long, in white, tilted back, 6-7 cm long and 0.5-0.8 cm wide of tepals, and also 6 stamens. Pestle about 7 cm long. The fruits are unknown.

Wavy krinum with strongly twisted leaves is a very attractive bulbous plant that is imported from time to time. This is not a very demanding plant: water with a pH of 7 is recommended from soft to medium hard. The soil should be nutritious and at least 8 cm high (for example, a clay additive). Strong circulation of water promotes plant growth. On krinum wavy transplant has a negative effect. The plant is intended for keeping in aquariums with a minimum height of 50 cm. Reproduction by daughter bulbs is possible only in adult, large plants. Seed propagation is unknown.

Krinum floating. It grows in West Africa from Guinea to Cameroon and south to Zaire. The species grows in tropical forest streams and rivers with a very fast flow, also under direct sunlight, in pebble and rocky or silty soil at heights up to 650 m above sea level.

A powerful aquatic plant with an almost round bulb up to 4.5 cm thick. Leaves in a rosette, ribbon-like, dark green in color, up to 140 cm long and 2-5 cm wide, usually very curly, rarely - almost flat; the edge of the sheet is irregularly crusty. The central vein is quite distinct. Peduncle up to 70 cm long, straight - photo. Inflorescence with 5 pleasantly smelling flowers. Bract up to 3.5 cm long.

Flowers with a straight green perianth tube, 10-18 cm long, 6 white, somewhat hanging, narrow-lanceolate perianth lobes, 5-9 cm long, 0.9-1.6 cm wide, and 6 stamens. Pestle longer than stamens. Collapse with 3-4 fruits. The fruit is round, shiny, up to 2 cm in diameter, dark green, with one sharp tip about 1 cm long. Seeds of irregular shape, up to 1.7 cm long.

This is a very large decorative species, very rare in aquariums. For growing, you need roomy aquariums so that ribbon-like leaves can spread along the surface of the water. In the aquarium, Krinum Floating develops well from soft to medium hard water and pH in the neutral range. The soil in accordance with the size of the bulb should have a height of at least 10 cm, be coarse and nutritious.

Since plants prefer fast-flowing places, you should worry about good water circulation in the aquarium. C. natans is sometimes propagated vegetatively by daughter bulbs on large mother plants. With artificial pollination, seeds are tied. Seeds germinate well, and young plants grow quickly, and after about 10 weeks they reach a height of about 15 cm. There are forms with more or less strongly twisted leaves.

Crinum purpurascens

Grows on the banks of ponds and rivers in Guinea. The bulb is ovoid, small, 5 cm in diameter, easily forms children. Leaves 30 cm long. Peduncle 30 cm long., With 5-9 flowers in an umbrella; perianth tube is very narrow, 12-15 cm long .; petals 6-7 cm long., purple; stamens widened, reddish. It blooms in summer (but plants can bloom at any time of the year). Cultivated in warm greenhouses (often planted in ponds in which they are located in a semi-submerged state).

Krinum Thai (Crinum thaianum)

Homeland - Southeast Asia. Water plant. It is rare among aquarists. This is an aquatic plant with a bulb up to 7 cm thick - photo. The leaves in the outlet are ribbon-shaped, more or less strongly curled, soft, torn with difficulty, 1-3 m long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, green. The edge of the leaf is finely towny, not wavy. Venation without distinct central vein. Flower arrow up to 80 cm high, straight. Inflorescence with 5-7 (10) fragrant flowers.

A flower with a straight line, 12-14 cm long, a green perianth tube, 6 white ones that turn down, 6.5-10 cm long and 0.8-1.1 cm wide of tepals, as well as 6 stamens. Seeds of irregular shape, up to 2.5 cm long.

Due to the rapid growth, its leaves, located serpentine on the surface of the water, can overlap the entire surface of the aquarium, obscuring other plants. Krinum can only be kept in large containers. It is usually placed at the back or side walls of the aquarium. The aquarium can grow all year long.

Well adaptable and fast growing species. Prefers diffused light, not intense. It develops in soft and hard water at a temperature of 22 to 27 ° C and needs a nutrient soil of at least 8 cm, in which a powerful root can freely spread. Reproduction by daughter bulbs of old plants more often than in Crinum natans.

From time to time, a different shape is sold with strongly curled leaf blades (spiral krinum).

Water krinum care

Located serpentine on the surface of the water, crinum leaves can overlap the entire surface of the aquarium, obscuring other plants. The aquarium can grow all year long.

Krinum should be grown in a tropical body of water at a water temperature of at least 22 ° C. In colder water, growth slows significantly, the plant begins to shed old leaves. Water can be soft and medium hard. It should be borne in mind that at stiffness below 4 ° C, growth can be unstable. The active reaction should be neutral or slightly alkaline, pH 6.8-8. In slightly acidic water, the old leaves of the plant are destroyed very quickly. Water should be clean, 1 / 5-1 / 4 of its volume should be regularly replaced 3-4 times a month.

Lighting can be moderate or strong. Long leaves of crinum rise to the surface and are located in close proximity to the illuminator, so that the plant receives enough light even from a relatively weak source. Therefore, when selecting illuminators, one should focus on plants located in the shadow of crinum leaves. The daylight hours must be at least 12 hours.

Soil should contain a large amount of organic substances. It is advisable to put a lump of clay or a mixture of clay and peat under the roots of krinum when planting in new soil. In the future, natural siltation of the soil is enough for plant nutrition. Pebbles and sand can be used as a substrate. For a powerful crinum root system, the size of the soil particles does not matter much. The thickness of the soil layer when planting a young plant can be about 5 cm. As the plant develops, the soil can be poured, increasing its layer to 7-10 cm.

Minerals can not be added to the water of the aquarium, since the plant receives the main nutrition from the soil.

Krinum propagates in an aquarium only vegetatively, forming baby bulbs in the immediate vicinity of the mother plant. This process is quite long. From the moment of planting a young plant until the first children appear in it, at least 3-5 years pass even under the most favorable conditions. This is probably the reason that krinum is not common among aquarists.

At high temperatures, low water levels and bright sunlight, crinum bloom can be achieved, but it has not yet been possible to obtain full seeds in artificial conditions.

Used materials: Kristel Kasselman. Atlas of aquarium plants