Just to throw my spanner in the works, in my opinion grass aloes are at least as 'bulbous' as may of the plants discussed on this list. They have a swollen, tuberous root, become dormant and lose their leaves as summer drought sets in and reappear when it rains. An excellent example of a geophytic perennial monocot, which is, after all, what we love to discuss here. They behave exactly as do the western American geophytic Delphinium species regularly discussed here without cavil, or Tropaeolum, or Alstroemeria, or Cyclamen, or Narcissus... To rant about such plants that occasionally pop up in a general discussion seems unnecessary. We are gardeners here, some perhaps call themselves plantsmen, and the fringes of our subject should never be excluded: I enjoy broadening my horizons, not narrowing them. As a group we live in many parts of the world and to me at least, it is rather interesting if a mini-thread develops on growing bulbs in a harsh climate, a mild climate, wherever. Crinums grown in Florida are out of my reach, but it doesn't mean to say I am not interested. I agree that the core of our discussion should be 'bulbous' plants - whatever they may be - but let us not forget that a core has a periphery. And yes, I do grow a grass aloe, A. myriacantha, currently resting out the dormant season in a pot alongside Gloriosa superba; my succulent aloes are growing adjacent to my Clivia miniata. Which of these are geophytes? John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rodger Whitlock" <totototo@pacificcoast.net> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 7:27 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] BACK UP - Grass Aloes are "sort of" bulbs - NOT > On 27 Nov 04 at 8:18, James Waddick wrote: > > > Dear Joe and All; > > Hate to be a spoil sport, but... > > I had to refute comparing grass aloes to bulbs. As far as I > > know there are no bulbous Aloe. These are herbaceous perennials > > plain and simple. Don't really mind any discussions especially if > > any are really Zone 5/6 hardy, but these are not bulbs. > > > > Just a small reality check. Humbug season I suppose. > > I've been out on the web & such long enough to take considerably > exception to camels' noses when they appear under the edge of the > tent. The fastest way to ruin any kind of net-forum (newsgroup, > mailing list, whatever) is to discuss related topics that are not > actually on-topic. I've seen groups ruined because no body put up a > fuss when these irrelevancies started to appear, so I'll put up a > fuss here and now and hope to nip them in the bud.[1] > > I have no shame in being a spoil sport. > > This is NOT a general gardening mailing list. It is NOT a mailing > list for gardeners in the harsh mid-continent climate of North > America. IMHO it is a mailing list about *bulbs*, and by courtesy, > corms, and tubers and rhizomes where these operate as do bulbs. > > And given the history of the PBS, there is a special emphasis on > amaryllids, esp. those of the New World. > > So please folks, take the grass aloes -- and dare I say it? -- the > peonies to another forum. Also the rhizomatous irises. And the > oriental poppies. A plant's dying down in hot dry weather and having > a fleshy root structure doesn't qualify it for this list. IMHO, of > course. > > [1] Does my rant get bonus points for making a horticultural analogy? > > -- > Rodger Whitlock > Victoria, British Columbia, Canada > Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate > > on beautiful Vancouver Island > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >