Dear All, I noticed the first ones blooming up here (naturalized and in a few gardens) 8/3 which seems very early to me. There is nothing showing in my garden, but IF mine bloom they are always much later than even local blooms. So I can still hope. In 1998 we had a most fascinating discussion on the IBS forum about Amaryllis belladonna and why it bloomed or didn't. I have just reread it to refresh my memory. As usual it was hard to sort through the different experiences and come up with a common theme for success. Warm, sunny, and dry in summer was one answer. Neglect, even walking on them when dormant was another. Another was a long period of growth in winter to store up the reserves for blooming. But just to make it interesting, Sir Peter Smithers reported blooms in Mexico at high elevations with a dry winter and a wet summer and he has good luck in Switzerland (I saw them so can attest to this) with year round water (but warm summers). Thanks for introducing yourself Mike. We are glad to have you. Mary Sue