🌿 Care Sheet: Crinum macowanii
(River Lily / Vlei Lily)
📌 General Plant Profile
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Native Range: Southern Africa (wet vleis, streams, swampy ground).
Growth Habit: Large, perennial, bulbous aquatic/marginal plant; long strap-shaped leaves; tall stalks bearing white, fragrant lily-like flowers.
Size: Leaves up to 1.5 m long; flowers 15–20 cm across on tall stems.
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🌊 In Ponds / Water Gardens (Best Use)
Position: Ideal as a marginal plant; place bulb so the crown is just above soil, roots in permanently moist soil at pond edges.
Depth: 0–10 cm water above soil level.
Soil: Heavy loam/clay mix; avoid pure sand or light potting soil (bulbs float or rot).
Spacing: Allow 60–100 cm; clumps expand massively.
Light: Full sun = best flowering.
Maintenance: Old leaves die back naturally; remove spent foliage to keep clump tidy. Divide only when clump becomes congested (bulbs resent disturbance).
Flowers: Summer–autumn, large white/pinkish, fragrant, moth-pollinated.

⚠️ Common Problems
No flowers: Too much shade, underfeeding, or young bulb (needs maturity).
Leaf scorch: From very dry soil or drought stress.
Rotting bulb: Standing in stagnant, anaerobic water or poorly-drained medium.
Snails/slugs: Eat young leaves.