Cardiocrinum giganteum ; different colored leaves?

[Cfred72]

Last week, it was the feast of plants of the Enghien castle in Belgium.
       
I brought the Cardiocrinum giganteum. I already have in the garden that I planted last year.

[Cfred72]

I noticed bulbs with leaves of different colors. I asked the seller why they were so red in addition to other normal bulbs with green foliage.
I think she did not know what she was selling.
She said this is the same as green. She says it is because they keep the Cardiocrinum in cold storage. They do this to stop the leaves growing too much for transportation.
I bought three. A green (which had a rather  yellow shoot (lack of chlorophyll with the dark cold room) and two red. After a week, the yellow is  green, red remained red. What should I assume? That I had a good eye to take  the red? Tell me what you think please.


Cardiocrinum growing since last summer

Cardiocrinum growing since last summer

New Cardiocrinum with green shoot

New Cardiocrinum with red push

New Cardiocinum with red push

[Cfred72]

There is no one to make me part of the solution? Here are some more pictures now that they are more developed.
This is the first. There's green in the foliage and the bronze and red.

[Cfred72]

The second is clearly red. What do you think ? Is that Cardiocrinum giganteum?

[Maggi Young]

I think it is most likely to be weather conditions that give the red colour - though it is often said that C. yunnanense tends to have a redder bulb and foliage - but that is not  always the case I don't think.   Maybe  your most red one will turn out to be  C. giganteum var. yunnanense - we'll find  out in a few years!

[pontus]

i find cardiocrinum giganteum has huge variation in the colour of the leaves, I had a very nice one that flowered last summer which had nice dark green leaves, almost bronze coloured, which became a bit brighter as the season went on. I have also had light green, and mid green with nice dark red veins.

yes yunnanense and cathayanum tend to be darker on emergence but the bulbs are generally a bit smaller at flowering size, also as Maggi says I do not find that a constant trait with yunnanense and cathayanum. were the cardiocrinums sold in black polybags? or planted in big pots? if they were in bags, i dont think that source grows cathayanum or yunnanense, so you probably have giganteum with variation in the leaves I think..

Pontus

[Brian Ellis]

My cardiocrinum cordatum var glehnii also has reddish young leaves this year (one of the offsets as it flowered last year).  I was also at a plant sale on Sunday where some of the cardiocrinum had green leaves and some reddish.  They were all supposedly the same variety just different coloured leaves.  Matt said that the reddish ones always sell first!

[Cfred72]

Cardiocrinum bulbs were sold with roots in small plastic bags (green). Not in pots.

[Cfred72]

Eventually everything turned green and it will flower.

[Cfred72]

It is barely ajar and already broadcasts a delicious fragrance.

[Brian Ellis]

They are a joy!  Hopefully you will have bulbils after the flowering is over.

[Cfred72]

They are open for nightfall yesterday.

[Cfred72]

Yes, Brian, as you say, I hope there will bulbils. For cons, I'll move the brush in the flowers to pollinate. I hope at least the seeds. With 11 flowers, I can do it.
The two Cardiocrinums that bloom are in two different places in the garden.
What's nice is that they flower at the same time. I'll be able to cross-pollination between the two plants.
By cons, as they flourished in the year of planting, they do not have many flowers (five on the first and six in the second) and their size does not rise very high (1.80m for the first and 1.70m for the second).
Here are some pictures this morning. With another light but lots of gloom.