>I also had little success with Ixiolirion tataricum (which is often available from commercial bulb catalogs). Recently I saw it in the wild and now understand it better. It was flowering at mid elevations (around 1,000-1800 m) in very moist, rocky loess and silty soil just after snowmelt. Later in the year the habitat becomes quite dry. According to Wikipedia, the native range of Ixiolirion is from the Sinai to Xinjiang Province in China. The bulbs are planted all over the garden here, and seem to be enjoying the constant rain (since April). While I would be the first person to admit that the prospect of spending many euros for one or two bulbs grown from a handful of seeds wrested from a single seed pod found on a near-vertical cliff somewhere in Central Asia after a long perilous journey is very attractive, at least one Dutch firm is offering one hundred ixiolirion bulbs for six dollars and seventy-five cents. Bob Nold Denver, Colorado, USA