I can't help a lot but I am trying to grow it here in the UK and currently have it deep in a large pot of mainly vermiculite with some compost at the bottom. So far the shoot I have is doing fine even in our current very cold weather. (But I am protecting it from frost of course.) I have seen it growing on our south coast (one UK location - thought to have been "planted" by a botanist but it is persisting) and it was right on the tide line where it bound to get regular salt water drenches. I understand that the bulbs grow naturally very deep - but I presume above the water table and "very long roots" keep the plant in water even in hot dry summers. So I presume these roots must be getting down to a distinctly brackish water table. Difficult to simulate... Hope this helps. John Reply / forward from John Crellin http://www.floralimages.co.uk/