Arnold asked: >Jane: > >What is the reason that you lift the [colchicum] bulbs? These are stock plants that I keep in plunged mesh pots so I can keep them separate and clearly identified, and I usually sell the surplus if they are healthy. I lift them every other year to change the soil and divide them, since they're in a confined space. However, it's also beneficial to lift and divide garden colchicums at least every fourth year, because the corms become very crowded and try to cope with that by plunging ever deeper in the soil, and they they may not flower so well, because they get very attenuated. I hope Arnold's bulbs aren't getting washed out by the torrential rains recently experienced in, I think, the area where he lives? Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA