Dear All, There doesn't seem to be much discussion about our topic of the week this week so in my role as coordinator I'm going to start asking questions and hope that some of you will respond. I know when I go to the trouble of preparing an introduction, I always hope someone will respond and I'd think others would feel the same way. I know you must all get very tired of seeing my name flash across the screen and you can prevent this by speaking up. First off can we establish the hardiness of the different species. On the wiki page Bill suggested only N. bowdenii was hardy and so did Hamish and that others needed to be grown under glass as frost was not good for the leaves. Many of the species are from the Eastern Cape and I'd think some of them might be hardy. And what about the ones dormant in the winter? I was curious to read in Graham Duncan's Grow Nerines that many of the species that are considered evergreen are dormant during the winter in habitat in these dry winter areas. Would that mean that they could be left dormant in the winter and therefore be protected from frost? I had understood if you let them grow dry that they would be slow to recover. We get frost where I live (not heavy frost) and the ones I grow haven't seemed to have been troubled by it but I don't always get reliable blooms. Can we have any reports from anyone who has found some of these can stand colder temperatures? I'm Zone 9. Now I am wondering if my flowering would improve if they were kept warmer in winter so hope the rest of you will share your experiences. How about all of you who live in Canberra who obviously are successful from your pictures. Do you keep yours warm in winter? Since I have become interested in Nerines there have been several areas there is disagreement about. One is fertilization. Sir Peter Smithers was a strong proponent that fertilization of the hybrids would lead to virus as he was sure that happened to him. I have never been able to understand that exactly unless there was a latent virus and over fertilization was a stress that brought it out. Since then others have suggested that they won't bloom without fertilizing and Hamish has told us he fertilizes every time he waters. How about the rest of you who have success? How much do you fertilize? The second area of contention is how to treat them in dormancy. Bill is saying to keep them completely dry and so does Graham Duncan. But Andrew Wilson and Lee Poulsen have found that regular water in summer when they are dormant has meant better flowering and in Hamish's introduction he talks of a sprinkle now and then. Another difference is whether they need their necks exposed or can be planted more deeply. There was a grower in Tasmania on the IBS list a number of year ago who had found in his climate planting them more deeply was better. I was also interested in size of the pot. Hamish has deeper pots than recommended by some and I have potted some of mine more deeply when there just didn't seem to be room for the roots. I know crowding is recommended but I just seem to have better results when roots don't start moving upwards when there is no longer room to go down. So depth of container is another area I am interested in. O.K. on this next one perhaps I should tread softly. I was fascinated with Hamish's mix. But he is controlling the water by growing under cover and I am sure that makes a difference. You rarely hear of people using vermiculite in their mixes. With all the winter rain I get I'd be afraid of using it. And supergel too? Harold told us to plant in cactus mix and both Bill and Hamish have a much richer mix. So here may be another clue for me. These mixes may not dry out as fast and therefore may survive a dry dormancy better. Leaner might need more water during dormancy. Many of these bloom better after fire. Terry Hatch in New Zealand told us he torches the leaves of his hybrids after they have died back. Anyone else experiment with fire to get blooms? Where I live I have no luck with Nerine bowdenii in the ground. But then I have decomposed sandstone for soil. It would seem to dry out too much in summer and also have very little nutrients. A friend who lives not too far away brags about hers each year. I have suggested that perhaps hers get more water than mine, but she also has clay soil and so probably retains moisture and has more nutrients than mine. So far the only two that have been blooming lately most years in the ground for me are N. pudica (which is from the winter rainfall area) and a cross given to me by Jim Robinett called Nerine flexuosa x N. undulata. That one blooms in a shady area no less in the ground and in a container I leave year round in the greenhouse. I have a couple of other species in containers that either haven't yet bloomed or don't usually bloom. N. masoniorum has bloomed more reliably now that it is in a deeper pot and I am paying more attention to fertilizing it. Last year I was dazzled by the hybrids from the Zinkowski rescue and I hope that I can keep them going. Maybe they should spend the winter in the greenhouse where they can be protected from the excessive rains. Please someone else share your experiences! And Hamish I am interested in what you have to say about the species too. Mary Sue