Colleen Hubbard in Australia wrote: >Hybrid tulips don't do very well in Western Australia's Mediterranean >climate, so I am delighted to find this lovely species tulip that can >survive all that our summer (temp. can reach 40 degrees C and higher) can >throw at it. > >Depending on whether I can obtain any seed, I would like to try to grow >some other hardy species tulips. Therefore, I would appreciate hearing >about any tips members may have on doing this. Species tulip seed can be purchased from Jim and Jenny Archibald <http://www.jjaseeds.com/> and from some of the Czech collectors' lists. I got T. cretica from the Archibalds. Many of the Central Asian tulips come from areas with blazing hot summers (see Janis Ruksans's article in the spring 2004 issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly). T. cretica seed will be very expensive, since it's a rare species, but T. humilis should be inexpensive and also available through free exchanges such as that of the North American Rock Garden Society <http://www.nargs.org/>. Growing some species tulips from seed requires patience, since they will rarely flower in fewer than four growing seasons (the easier species, such as T. tarda) and sometimes not for six or seven. However, this is a good way to get disease-free stock, as long as you keep them away from your commercial tulips. The seeds should be planted in fall for germination and growth over the cool season. (You can store them at room temperature until the Southern Hemisphere fall without harming the seeds.) The seedling bulbs are very small and should be kept in the seed pots for two years, fertilized while in growth. The third year they can be moved to larger pots, and by the fourth year they should be able to go into the garden provided it isn't rodent-infested. Have European bulb pests such as squirrels and voles invaded Australia? Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA