Hello all: I would like to urge those of you living in colder climates to experiment with the amazing Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' as a houseplant. On a whim, I purchased two divisions of this plant in May of 2004 and they grew steadily in an 8 inch pot on my southern windowsill all summer long (I have no outdoor growing space) until each sending up a flower scape in late August/early September. The beauty of the flowers--which have the wonderful habit of opening in the evening just as you get home from a long day of work--and the pervasive, sweet, spicy fragrance totally captured my heart. In October of 2004, I repotted my Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' into a 14 inch clay pot that, for size reasons, had to be relocated from the windowsill to the floor directly underneath. This reduced the light levels the plant was receiving somewhat, and of course the winter sun rays in the Chicago area are weak at best. Much to my amazement, the Hymenocallis didn't seem to mind at all and rapidly sprang into active growth. Furthermore, it has been multiplying all winter long and is constantly sending up new shoots from below. I think there are now about 12 individual clumps in my pot now and I see the beginnings of a few others poking their way up from the soil. I am sure I will need to repot to an even larger pot by the end of the summer. Now, much to my continued amazement, both of the original divisions are again sending up flower spikes. What a fantastic spring treat! The cultivation of these Hymenocallis has been simple. I keep the soil quite moist, only letting it dry down very, very slightly between waterings and I fertilize every two weeks or so with a quarter strength solution of Dyna-Gro's Grow formula (7-9-5 with trace minerals). I have never noticed any insect pests or disease on these plants since they have been under my care, although when I received them I did notice traces of a mealy bug infestation. One application of neem oil seemed to wipe out the mealies for good, because I haven't seen hide or tail of them since (knock on wood). I have also been growing several other tropical Hymenocallis species on my windowsills this winter (H. latifolia, H. tubiflora, H. caribaea and H. ex Guatemala among a couple of others). All are growing mightily and do not seem to mind being housebound though I have not yet had them long enough for them to bless me with flowers. So for those of you who have room for a big, buxom houseplant with arching, glossy green leaves that is hardy and undemanding and provides some of the most exquisitely beautiful and gloriously perfumed flowers known to humankind, please consider Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant'. This entire genus has been inexplicably ignored by plant lovers for far too long and truly contains some of the best and brightest gems among the geophytes. Corey in Chicago, Illinois PS--I also posted this on the IBS Members forum on Yahoo!. For those of you who are members of both forums, I apologize for the duplicate post but I just could not contain my excitement any longer. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs/