Randy asked: >> what happens to my collection when I am gone? Good question, and I think very appropriate at this time of year when many of the world's cultures exchange gifts. If a botanical garden wants to accept someone's collection, I think that's worth a try. But there are also things that we as private growers can do. If you can no longer take care of a collection, you should pass it on to others. The PBS list is a great way to coordinate that. Just post a message and ask if anyone's interested. If they are, great. If they aren't...well, you did your best. But chances are someone will take at least some of your babies. I've seen this in action in three different ways over the years, and all had pretty happy outcomes: --Back in the 1990s, a Nerine grower named Jack Zinkowski passed away in Oregon. He had one or more greenhouses full of Nerine cultivars, and left no heirs. Steve Vinisky of the International Bulb Society organized a rescue, and the bulbs were distributed to a number of IBS members. Mine are still growing well a decade later. --When noted Amaryllis breeder Les Hannibal was moving away from his home, he invited PBS members to some dig surplus bulbs that were growing in the back yard. We descended like friendly locusts, and as a result his bulbs were spread all over the place, including my backyard, where I have about 100 selections from his bulbs. --Just this last year, a PBS member decided that he was getting too old to care for his South African bulbs. He asked if anyone would take on his collection, and I volunteered. This summer I drove up to his place and picked up about 100 pots of bulbs, which he gave to me for free. But I had to make a promise in return: when I get to the age when I can't take care of the pots any more, I have to pass them along to someone else. I view that as a very serious duty, and I hope when the time comes I'll have the integrity to handle it the way he did. (I hope I'll also have kept his stuff alive! So far, so good.) Anyway, I think he set a great example: treat your collection as something you have custody of, not something you own. And when the time comes, use the PBS to hand it on. Mike San Jose, CA