Cardiocrinum giganteum

The Giant Himalayan Lily. Large, fragrant, white trumpets, ruby red in the throat on 2-3m stems.

They adore light shade, humidity and rich, leafy soils. Prepare your soil well in advance with plenty of humus, leaf mould, manure and bark to get the best from them. They are a long term project, not an instant gratification plant. If you want the best from them, they need work on your part!

After flowering, they die, leaving offsets which flower in 3-5 years. Planting in successive years or in different sizes ensures a cycle of flowering.

Rootless mature bulbs are not recommended as bulbs moved at flowering-size will not have time to make a good root system before flowering. Plants then flower at a fraction of their potential size, disappointing you and us.

We do however have large (7 year) pot-grown bulbs at, or almost at, flowering size, available late January onwards ONLY. These are grown in coir-based compost which is shaken off immediately before despatch, ensuring good establishment whilst keeping weight down.