Crinum augustumQueen Emma Lily

Crinum augustum, the Queen Emma Lily, is a bold bulbous perennial from the Indian Ocean islands that has travelled with tropical gardening for two centuries. Broad strap leaves arch out from a stout neck and are flushed wine-red on the reverse, and umbels of fragrant white trumpets striped in the same wine-red open through the warm months.

It is used in mass planting, resort and poolside beds and coastal gardens, where it gives the scale of a shrub with the texture of a lily.

Specifications

• Height1 to 1.5 metres
• Width1 to 1.5 metres
• Native toThe Seychelles and Mauritius; long cultivated across the tropics
• FoliageBroad, arching, strap-shaped leaves flushed wine-red on the reverse; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers deep, fertile, well-drained soils and tolerates sandy coastal ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; tolerates short dry periods once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions and is frost-sensitive

Additional Features

• FlowersUmbels of fragrant white trumpets striped wine-red, through the warm months
• FormBold strappy clump rising from a stout bulb neck
• UsesIdeal for mass planting, resort and poolside beds, coastal gardens and feature borders
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1 metre apart for a continuous mass
• Low MaintenanceRemove spent leaves and flower stems; divide only when badly congested
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust; monitor for lily caterpillar in humid conditions
• Salt ToleranceTolerates sandy saline soils and coastal exposure
• ToxicityThe bulb and sap are toxic if eaten and the sap can irritate skin

The Queen Emma Lily gives a bed the presence of a shrub and the line of a lily, and it takes coastal exposure without flinching.