Hi all, I checked my pots of winter-growing Haemanthus in their summer storage last week. I was surprised to see that I had missed the flowering of a seedling Haemanthus barkerae! The bulb is one of a batch started from seed in May, 1998; the seeds came from Silverhill, but I don't know anything about their provenance. Perhaps Rachel could tell us? Only one of the batch seems not to be ready to flower this season. At long last, some of my Haemanthus carneus seem to be coming out of dormancy. This is the latest they have ever waited to start new growth. H. humilis humilis is not even doing this well, as none show any signs of growth since last Fall. Some of the H. humilis hirsutus started growing in June; most of the rest are starting to show tentative signs of fresh green in the neck now. One or two are still totally inert, but clearly alive. The hirsutus were all bought as mature bulbs, in the hope of getting some results. The above bulbs have all spent the entire summer outdoors. After June it turned hot and dry, and they have been watered occasionally, when the potting mix seemed to be dry. Two large bulbs of H. montanus, purchased from a Southern California vendor, showed signs of virus, so they spent the entire summer in the otherwise empty and hot (120 F in the afternoon) greenhouse. I watered occasionally, and treated with aspirin at least twice (one 5-grain aspirin, crushed and dissolved in 1.75 gallons of water). They never wilted or faltered! The signs of virus mosaic have disappeared from their leaves -- the same two leaves originally produced in early summer. Indeed, the small seedlings of H. montanus, planted in March, 2001, have done remarkably well. Given the same treatment as seedlings of HH. carneus and humilis humilis planted at the same time, they have done marvelously well. Almost all have produced leaves and increased in size. This lot were set out in their pots on a groundcloth in one of nursery bed. They are in full sun and the water they get is natural (and little of it this year!) as well as twice weekly waterings from the irrigation system sprinklers (equivalent to 1/2 inch of rain per watering). I am truly impressed with Haemanthus montanus and its potential in cultivation. What experience have other had with these species of Haemanthus in cultivation? I'd be most eager to hear of everyone's experiences with them. Best wishes, Jim Shields in central Indiana, where today we may have our third day of 90 degree weather in this new month of September! Oh Winter, where is thy Snow? ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. +1-317-896-3925