Well, that's a bummer. It sounds like me and my F. imperialis. (Not even one leaf!) Lauw once suggested E. himilayicus might do ok here (he lives in France, south central I think, perhaps he grows them there and the climate is similar to So Cal). I can't remember the reference(s) but I just read that they like a hot, dry, dormancy and that's why they are called desert candle. I planted some here once a few years ago but thinking back on it, I planted them about a foot deep. Well, as Tony Avent says, keep trying. This year I planted about a dozen F. Imperialis in several different places - we'll see. The E. bungii looked quite dessicated but I am soaking them in hopes of plumping up the roots a bit prior to planting out. Cathy Craig President PBS Maritime zone 9b > The grit sounds like a very good idea, but I'm afraid that I can't > offer more help than that. I have tried Eremurus a half dozen times > over the years, and never had one sprout emerge from the soil. From > the growing zone maps I have seen, and everything I have read, > Eremurus require a considerably cooler climate than I can offer them. > BAsically, the most favorable growing areas in the USA were > 'heartland', and only the most northern coastal areas were shown to be > hospitable. I think you're a few degrees milder than here, so you may > have similar results. I can't grow herbaceous Peony here either. > > One thing that I found to be discouraging was the fact that the roots > on my plants were in pretty bad shape