Cardiocrinum

More Information About Cardiocrinum

Although well-established in Europe, cardiocrinum is rarely grown in the US outside the Pacific Northwest. We hope to change this and get gardeners interested in cardiocrinum and its impressive, butterfly-attracting flower stalk with up to 40 fragrant Easter lily-like blooms.

The name cardiocrinum is simple to break down...the leaves are heart-shaped (cardio) and the flowers are lily-like (krinum). In Nepal, cardiocrinum leaves and roots are used in traditional medicine and flutes are made from the hollow stems. Cardiocrinum is a magnificent plant but, from seed, it takes 7 years to reach flowering size. After it flowers, the main bulb dies and is replaced by offsets which take 3-5 years to bloom. This is a plant for a patient gardener!

Cardiocrinum prefers part shade, lots of compost and consistently moist soils, but is otherwise easy to grow. Plant the bulbs with the nose at soil level. When you are ready to buy cardiocrinum for your garden, check out our online list of cardiocrinum for sale.