Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Bosanquet Blog

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Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Ellen Bosanquet Crinum Lily, a Florida story. | MOSI Outside


In the Tampa Bay, we don't have an enormous host of options for bulb plants, but we do have a few really fantastic ones. I'm a fan of hippeastrum which bloom early in the spring, but we have another fabulous bulb in our Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove that has a great Florida story. One of the most popular varieties of crinum lilies in the south is the brilliant and eye-popping magenta of the "Ellen Bosanquet" Crinum and it was hybridized in Lake County, Florida.

Louis Percival Bosanquet was a horticulturalist who made his home near the small town of
Fruitland Park which can be found just north of Leesburg, Florida. Louis arrived from England in 1888 and purchased the house and property on Zephyr Lake in what is now Fruitland Park from a family member. Bosanquet cultivated tress, shrubs, hibiscus, bamboo, palms, and more. In addition, Louis also hybridized crinum lilies. The brilliant magenta blooms that we display were named for his wife Ellen Lewis Hall, a descendant of George Washington. Louis Percival Bosanquet developed other crinums as well, including a pale pink flowering lily names 'Louis Bosanquet'.
Louis Percival Bosanquet, his wife Ellen and several of their children are buried in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Fruitland Park. They were members of an English community entitled Chetwynd that was formed in the 1880's and lasted through about 1902. You can read more about the Bosanquets and their English Chetwynd community at The Chetwynd Chronicles.

About this plant: Ellen Bosanquet crinums divide easily in the winter, but may take a year or two to bloom after they have been moved or divided. This plant is easy going and can stand the sun and wet of Florida summer. In unusually cold temperatures, they may suffer a bit of cold damage so you might want to cover them in a freeze. Other than that, just leave this crinum alone and it will flourish. Here at MOSI Outside, we have two patches of this crinum: one in full sun and one in almost full shade. Both patches thrive on benevolent neglect, giving us brilliant pink blooms that bring garden visitors to a halt.
MOSI Outside  Living Exhibits at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry