Thanks to Jerry, John L., and John. G. for the excellent information on 'Gertrude Wister', which I've forwarded to the original inquirer. If I could grow L. vernum effectively, I'd be campaigning for a bulb of this interesting plant. However, both L. vernum and L. aestivum fail to flourish here and rarely bloom, probably because the soil (acidic, fast-drying) is wrong for them. In contrast, L. autumnale and the purportedly tender L. nicaeense do well in the open rock garden, though I don't depend on their surviving there indefinitely, once they encounter winter temperatures more severe than average. The larger species, which come from wet meadows, grow well at lower elevations near my home, where the soil tends to be dense and silty rather than the rocky subalpine forest stuff I have here; this suggests to me that it's the drainage, not the acidity, that is inhospitable to these plants. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA