dear mary sue, john b. and others, many thanks for your thoughtful replies. i'm sorry i'm so late in replying, but i appreciate all your help. > book about his experiences to fill that gap. It is a > thin volume (about 100 > pages), but quite remarkable as it includes so much > information. The title > is Growing Bulbs Indoors by P.J.M. Knippels. do you know if this book is available in the u.s.? i appreciate your observations on indoor growings. i've realized that one can never generalize with this group of plants. i've tried in the past growing some cape bulbs indoors and did not have much luck. but i'm able to grow some others like an unidentified Lachenalia someone sent me (with spotted leaves and white flowers with green tips -- is that aloides?) that has bloomed and never gone dormant (i no longer have it, since i gave it to a friend). i have not had problems growing both Veltheimias so far (capensis and bracteata) except that the blooms in capensis have not opened, but have blasted. the ones in bracteata are still holding on. > I am amazed at some of the things that he has been > able to grow indoors. In > the back in the third appendix I see that he has > classified Lachenalia in > the "very experienced growers" category (along with > Boophone, Brunsvigia, > Bulbine, Bulbinella, winter growing Cyrtanthus, > Gethyllis, winter growing > Gladiolus, Massonia, winter growing Moraea, Nerine, > winter growing > Ornithogalum, winter growing Oxalis, and > Whiteheadia.) A critical factor in > growing Lachenalia indoors he writes is that you > need to grow them in cool > temperatures. i have rather cool windowsills. my apt. is not very warm in the winter and in the windowsills, the temp can drop to a high of 50's in the daytime. various plants have appreciated that, whereas others have adapted to it. i just don't grow things like Episcias and some other very warm-growing platns in windowsills anymore. i have Boophane at the office. it's growing fine but no flowers yet, it's still a juvenile. i'd love to grow Gethylis one day. tsuh yang __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeove…