I have 2 crinums in the ground (a white and a pink), which have been happily growing for about 6 years now - I am near Campobello (which is west and north of you). I have one in a pot I just bought a few weeks ago ('Sangria', with purplish leaves), still to plant, and plan on buying another this week (dark, rosy red flowered 'Ellen Bosanquet'), so it's not too late to plant them.

These have the potential to get quite large over time - my clumps are now about 4-6' across (having started with a single bulb in a 1-gal. pot), counting the length of the leaves as they sprawl out over the ground - I need to divide them, despite that they probably won't bloom next year - they resent moving. The bulbs grow off-sets, and can get quite large themselves - older ones can weigh up to 30-40 lbs. apiece, depending on the cultivar. Plant yours with plenty of room around it, and set it so the top of the neck of the bulb is at ground level, in good, well-draining soil. Mulch it well over the winter. Your proposed location sounds good, as long as you can water then, and there is room for them to get as big as as they will - plant them 4-5' apart, more might be better.

I find they come back quicker in the spring if I don't cut the long leaves back until spring, which provides some protection to the growth points of the bulbs - the one year I cut back one of the clumps in the fall, it was about 2 weeks slower than the other to begin growing again in the spring. Equally, don't leave the old, dead leaves too long in the spring, as they can block the new growth.

I wouldn't assume the Agapanthus was hardy - you would be safer to keep it in a pot and put it inside in a sheltered area (garage or shed) on the coldest nights - although it MIGHT do in a very sheltered area - I know it can survive in some gardens in Spartanburg. Next year, you could experiment by dividing the plant, planting half in the ground in a very sheltered spot, and keeping the other half in a pot again, so you don't lose all of it if worse came to worst and it froze hard.

Thanks dibbit,
I haven't ever had any crinums at all. I did get a agapanthus at a swap one year, thinking it WAS hardy I planted it in a bucket and it didn't make it over winter.
I always thought I had done something to kill it, well really I DID but not the way I thought...lol.

I am sure the crinums will be happy in the temp spot for now. As long as they make it through winter they will be fine.

I will be sure to plant the agapanthus in something else and bring it in...

Thanks again,
Fran

My agapanthus made it through the winter last year. It is planted in a spot that is sunny in winter (my thinking is that helps keeps the ground somewhat warmer) and I put loads of leaf mulch on top of my beds in October. I am on the Swain/Jackson county border at about 3200 feet. This year I left all my bulb-y things in the ground. Last year I experimented with leaving some cannas in the ground and taking some up. The ones in the ground survived...the others not. My daffodils, iris, daylilly (not really a bulb)and the cannas are ok. But I cover my beds with lots of leaf mulch!