Mary Sue Ittner wrote: I am still > hoping Paige, Kelly or Russell will tell us about which Tulips they sell do > well in different parts of the country before this latest topic is done. Mary Sue, I've kept my head down because this is a crunch period what with spring startup, shipping, final arrangements on Jim Waddick's and my Peonies of China study-tour in April, and departure next week for the NARGS Western Winter Study Weekend in Oregon. (Cue violins). I haven't had tulip complaints. My website stresses that tulips need a cold winter and do not like a wet one. I don't think it's worthwhile to isolate particular species that do better in one part of the world than others. The needs of Tulipa species are more general. Some hybrids, typically found in garden centres, can take wet-winter, chocolate-soil, "non-Tulipa" conditions for a few years, but they gradually dwindle and require replacement. Nor have I have I kept track of who orders tulips as a special class, but off the top of my head many of them live in Mediterranean climates that sometimes drop below zero Centigrade, or in places with heavy snow such as Ontario and Quebec, eastern Washington and Oregon, the Rockies from Alberta to Colorado, Germany, eastern Europe and the Baltics, the former Soviet Union and (wait for it) Iran. So far no orders from Iraq! Rock gardeners who order species tulips tend to be aware already of how to control soil porosity and drainage with grit, rocks, overhead protection and what have you. I have some Tulipa that have been coming up for years. I think their main constraints are water in spring, and too much shade before they die down. They would rather have sun and a dry period that does not imply dessication, but rather faintly moist coolness in gritty soil with no additional water from above. I am very sorry but it cannot be that all who know a little about a subject contribute to it. Once again I must put my head down and withdraw. Paige Paige Woodward paige@hillkeep.ca http://www.hillkeep.ca/