crinum calamistratum in outdoor pond

[Mahi27]

Hi all. Does anyone have any experience keeping crinum calamistratum in an outdoor setting? I ordered one from Aq Co-Op a few weeks ago, stuck it in an Easy Planter with a root tab, and chucked it in the deepest part of my pond (about 21" down). It gets sunlight from the east for several hours a day; the spot it's in is low flow; the shubunkins and koi are leaving it alone. The water is pretty cold right now, about 55 F. The crinum looking pretty weak right about now. I know crinum melts and all that when you first get it, but does anybody see anything wrong with my set-up that might cause the plant to die? Is the temperature an issue? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Daniel]

Crinum calamistratum is native to equatorial Central and West Africa. I suspect that it will not appreciate cool temperatures, but I do not know that for sure.

[Mahi27]

Thank you @Daniel. Do you think I should move it into my 20 long, which I keep around 76 F? I'm worried that moving it will just tick it off more!

[Daniel]

@Blurb got theirs to flower and boy was that beautiful. Here is what they did:

If it were me, I would move it inside, just know I have never had one so my advice is based on assuming that it will appreciate the warmer temperatures.

[ChefConfit]

So when I first got my Crinum I actually got 2 and planted them on either side of my tank and one took off while the other died in a matter of weeks. Couldn't understand it until I watched a YouTube video (that I won't link to because it's someone who sells plants) that went over the Crinums natural environment in Cameroon. They are native to fast flowing streams and their leaves trail out in the current. That's when I realized the one that took off was directly under my HOB outlet and the one that died was in the area of my tank with the least water movement. 

I'd say try moving it to a spot with higher flow. It doesn't need to be laid flat by the flow, but all the leaves should be constantly swaying. 

[Mahi27]

On 12/28/2020 at 9:03 PM, ChefConfit said:

So when I first got my Crinum I actually got 2 and planted them on either side of my tank and one took off while the other died in a matter of weeks. Couldn't understand it until I watched a YouTube video (that I won't link to because it's someone who sells plants) that went over the Crinums natural environment in Cameroon. They are native to fast flowing streams and their leaves trail out in the current. That's when I realized the one that took off was directly under my HOB outlet and the one that died was in the area of my tank with the least water movement. 

I'd say try moving it to a spot with higher flow. It doesn't need to be laid flat by the flow, but all the leaves should be constantly swaying. 

I ended up bringing it inside and putting it next to the sponge filter in my 20 long. So far it looks like it just might not die! Lol. Thanks for the tip! Meanwhile, on a whim I threw an extra windelov java fern I had into the pond, and that thing is sending out tons of roots. How cool will it be if I can have an outdoor java fern.