On 11 Mar 05 at 9:22, Jane McGary wrote: > Oregon is enjoying or suffering (depending on what you grow) the warmest, > driest winter-spring in half a century or more. Temperatures have already > risen into the low 70s F at my place... > Many, though not all, Narcissus species seem to be blooming on shorter > stems than usual. Is this caused by the warm, sunny conditions? Very likely. Incomplete elongation of the scape is a common reaction to insufficient winter chilling in bulbs. A couple of examples: I have Erythronium grandiflorum from a low-altitude site on Vancouver Island. They flower only sparsely and then they do the scapes are so short that the flowers look upwards. The original site, though at low altitude (ca. 1000'), is a steep northward facing slope that has a long cold period in winter. The plant has persisted for many years, even increasing slightly, but its flowering habits make it nothing more than a curiosity. Hardly a garden ornament. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island