Diane wrote: "It is early summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Every day the leaves of my indoor sarniensis hybrid nerines look more bedraggled. Some are still green, but drooping down the outside of their pots. They are starting to dry. Two, however, have leaves lushly green and standing bolt upright. I've just checked the labels and they are both Eos, that I bought last fall (autumn). They are right in the middle of my small collection, and have not been treated differently to the rest. Does Eos remain green year round? Or will it die down later in the summer?" It may die down or it may be one that is evergreen. A clue will lie in when it flowers and as you have but recently obtained this cultivar, your (possible) flowering this past season may not be its true period. I don't know this particular cultivar but it sounds very much as though N. sarniensis is not a major contributor to its ancestry. Most of the sarniensis hybrids will flower in early autumn, leaf growth occurs till spring. Keep them going for as long as possible - regular light watering and feeding maintains the foliage into late spring. Mine are showing some browning of the foliage but some of the sarniensis hybrids are still showing strong green leaf and there is still some leaf growth occurring. It is a difficult judgment to know when to stop watering and finally let the sarniensis based hybrids die down. Too much water late in the season may lead to the rotting of the roots. In the dormant period, give a light sprinkle occasionally. The object is to maintain the root system of the bulb - too dry and the roots shrivel and you are likely to lose the flower buds within the bulb, if not for the following season then for the season after that, too wet and the roots will rot. There does appear to be a very definite two year sequence for the bud initiation, development and flowering for many of these nerines. This may be a contributing factor to the non-flowering immediately following re-potting. Hybrids that are mainly N. bowdenii based will maintain their foliage for a longer period. They will also start their foliage into growth later with often a very definite space between their flowering and leafing, just as bowdenii tends to do outside. Some of these hybrids derived largely from bowdenii are almost evergreen and if they are kept inside and watered and fed they will keep their leaves or possibly show a very short dormant period. I don't know whether the dormant period is necessary for flowering to occur regularly but I suspect not. I just haven't observed any clues to answer this question. Some of the sarniensis/bowdenii hybrids show this tendency to evergreen strongly, e.g. Oberon, Kingship and Goya. (The long growth period that results often leads to rapid offset production and growth. :-) Just the sort of bonus we desire.) The bolt upright form of Eos at this time of season suggests this group. Mark Wilcox mentions his "N. sarniensis 'Eos' " as surviving the Washington DC winter outside. This hardiness doesn't fit with an essentially sarniensis hybrid to me. Some nerine species are naturally evergreen or will be so given suitable conditions. These particularly include N. undulata (syn. N. flexuosa) and these evergreen species have been used in hybrid development. these are the ones which stretch the flowering period into December e.g. Elspeth, Glensavage Spider, Kymina, Pink Triumph, Baghdad, Gloaming, Lochaber. The leaf width and length in this group of hybrids varies considerably, indicative of the use of a range of the species. Elspeth is notably narrow shorter leaves; she bulks up quickly and the bulbs reach flowering (relatively small) size rapidly. A hybrid like Oberon is still now showing very vigorously upright foliage. clearly still in active growth. The dryness faced by species in the open ground may be overcome by the roots going deep. You need to treat these other two group separately from the mainly sarniensis group and I take care to keep the sets of pots apart, though in the same greenhouse. I have found it handy to use a differently coloured label for these three groups and for the species. There are two frustrations for me with nerines. Firstly many of the records of hybridization have been lost or, more rarely, I don't know where to look for them. Secondly, the regulations on sending bulbs between countries limit my acquisitive tendency! There were a number of comments on seed sowing for nerine and other amaryllids. Nerine seedlings can be kept growing without a dormant period for their frost two or three years. Keep moist and they don't die down. I don't know if this applies to the other amaryllids with fleshy seeds, but Doug's comment on Brunsvigia shows it applies to some at least. When sowing seed of this group, I use Alberto's technique of 'half bury'. I often find some assistance in helping the radicle into a slit in the compost is useful. Mary Sue dug out some of Sir Peter Smithers comments for us on the question of feeding. I have used a balanced feed often with these plants and I don't have problems with it. I do get rapid offset growth. but the feeding cannot be the cause of the virus. It may make bulbs more prone to softer growth and hence more susceptible to insect attack which carry the virus. Mealy bug can be such a source but regular preventive spraying holds this fairly easily. Certainly, nerine are not easily taken by mealybug - unlike clivia for example - but I have found insects at the base of the old flower stems when re-potting. It is common to cut off the old flower stem when it has died down and leave it in the bulb. However this appears to keep a channel open for mealybugs to get to the base of the bulb where they are well protected from contact insecticides. I suspect this may be one reason for the suggestion of immersing the whole pots in an insecticide such as Malathion that I have come across. I have practiced pulling out the old stem fully when it has completely died down. It comes out very easily (if it doesn't, it's too soon to pull!) and the growth of the bulb closes the gap where the stem came up. "Nerines flower better if pot-bound" is a comment that comes up. I think this is in part a reflection of the good drainage that results from all those penetrating roots! Its not just a matter of being undisturbed though this plays a major part. Mary Sue also commented earlier on the richness of my mix. One of the factors that I think particularly important is the presence of the trace elements. Geologically, the SA soils are strong on iron and other mineral content and the ability of the nerine roots to go deep would enable the bulbs to tap the deep-lying sources for trace elements. Regards to all Hamish Wettish Zone 9 Middle South UK