Dear Friends; Lycoris season is at peak here in Kansas City. Dozens-maybe hundreds of blooms. Always a few standouts, but it is getting frustrating. Let me explain. A few years ago a Chinese friend offered me some low price Lycoris chinensis, longituba and sprengeri, the 3 most common. When they arrived they did not look right and I ended up planting a group of 25 each. The sprengeri are mostly as named and they looked the best, but they also have the more distinct bulb shape. The longituba and chinensis are easier to mix up as bulbs and they proved to be a range of colors and forms from 'typical chinensis' to 'typical longituba'. This means flowers run the gamut from nearly bright orange to golden to pure white. L. longituba flavum shades are included and I suspect that many are hybrids of the two species. Clearly not suited for sale as either species without growing on, sorting and keeping isolated. This year one bulb, blooming for the first time is an amazing beauty. Pure bright canary yellow without the dull buff seen in most hybrids or the golden/pink tinge leaning toward pure chinensis. Large flat petals suggest L.longituba parentage, but at 3 ft tall with 7 5-inch wide flowers it is a knock out. This is the first Lycoris I have seen that is a pure yellow color, not tinged or dulled with other shades. In another location and in a smaller group of half dozen L. sprengeri, there is one bulb that has the blue tips extending down most of the petals giving a strong 'electric' sky blue color to the entire flower. And I have seen other exceptional individual bulbs grown by others. I have inquired before, but had little response about commercial propagation through any tissue culture or traditional methods to make these beauties available. Nor have I done any bulb cutting, quartering, chipping etc. Does anyone have experience with Lycoris in this regard? What is the best time of year. Mid-summer when totally dormant? Frustrating, but beautiful. Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 E-fax 419-781-8594 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +