At 02:02 15/02/05, you wrote: >Hi, > as a new member of the group I have read with >interest many of the interesting discussions that are >to be had. Also so many new and interesting plants to >look at. I have a particular interest in Scilla >Peruviana and am interested to hear anyones experience >with the Elegans and Lutea or any other less common >varieties which seem to be almost impossible to come Hugh, I am unfamiliar with the 2 named varieties that you mention, but I do grow the straight species, a pristine white bought as 'Alba' (I just love this, very striking as it is just so pure a white when in flower) and var Harrisiana (pink with a blue stripe down the centre of each flower..... also known as Scilla hughii). All do very well for me here in Canberra, Australia, behaving basically as evergreen in some cases. All flower each year and both the white (definitely) and the pink (I think) set seed. They like lots of sun. One thing I noticed with var harrisiana is that it produces masses of tiny bulblets along the roots, which worry the hell out of me! <grin> I was about to plant it into the ground until I saw this little "feature" and I promptly decided that it would go into a bigger pot instead. I would imagine that it could become a prolific grower if every one of those bulbils grew to maturity, and given how long their roots can become I would imagine that they could cover some distance in spreading. Here, we get down to -8 or -9'C most winters with that amount of cold never bothering the Scillar peruvianas, be they in the ground or in pots. They definitely like full sun, but with our amount of sunshine they don't mind being in dappled shade here as well. I assume from the name that lutea is a yellow? Didnt realise that they came in a yellow. So what is 'Elegans' like then? Sounds like both of them would be worthwhile trying to find seeds of as I find this species just so satisfying as it flowers so well almost every year. I find ocassional years the straight species will completely skip flowering for no known reason, although the other 2 forms flower religiously every year even when the straight species skips flowering. Not sure if this will be of much help to you or not, but it gives you a little info on some of the other forms at least. Cheers. Paul Tyerman Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Trilliums, Cyclamen, Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Oxalis, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!