Joe- Thanks for the update. I've been thinking about Marcelle this summer. I've had quite a number of her crinum bloom this year after planting them out in October 2003. Please let us know when you hear news of Marcelle and Margie. Regards, Phil Andrews PS- I agree, nothing is tougher than a crinum (except maybe Zephyranthes)- I've had them take a Cat 5 that leaves them ragged and they've always come back. Zephyranthes just retreat underground and then bloom their heads off a few days later. <BLOCKQUOTE style='PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #A0C6E5 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px'><font style='font-size:///11px;FONT-FAMILY:tahoma,sans-serif/'><hr color=#A0C6E5 size=1> From: <i>ConroeJoe@aol.com</i><br>Reply-To: <i>Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org></i><br>To: <i>pbs@lists.ibiblio.org</i><br>Subject: <i>[pbs] Off Topic: Hurricane Rita</i><br>Date: <i>Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:02:38 EDT</i><br>>Hi Gang,<br>><br>>I saw an aerial photo in one of today's newspapers showing several destroyed<br>>homes in Vidor, TX. I could help but worry about my friends there, among them<br>>Marcelle Sheppard and Margie Brown.<br>><br>>I visited with both, just a week ago, on Tuesday, September 20, when<br>>Hurricane Rita was still only a possibility. Marcelle had been home from about a<br>>3-month stay in the hospital for a broken pelvis and some broken ribs. An earlier<br>>storm (this year) had weekend a tree that fell on her as she exited a car for<br>>a church function.<br>><br>>So, Marcelle was home and wheeling in her chair like a happy kid; she could<br>>also get about on a walker. Margie, just a few miles away, has been a longtime<br>>Gulf Gardener, and often planted many of Marcelle's special Crinum, rainlily,<br>>or Hippeastrum hybrids--to grow them out and to help Marcelle judge garden<br>>performance under different conditions.<br>><br>>Now, for sure, the storm has devastated their towns. There is really no way<br>>to get in to visit them or to know how they are doing. Surely, they got to<br>>safety in time, and from the reports I'm getting they will not have been allowed<br>>to return to their homes yet. In any event, much of the area is without<br>>electricity and temperatures have hovered near 100 F all week. Southeast Texas is<br>>no place to be without air conditioning.<br>><br>>In time I hope to hear good news from Marcelle and Margie, that their houses<br>>were spared, and that their gardens remained mostly intact (how could anything<br>>pull a big old Crinum out of the ground?). But, I also know that the wind<br>>could have damaged their greenhouses, or blown away Marcelle's seed crop for the<br>>year, or totally leveled their homes. I wish them luck.<br>><br>><br>>LINK 1: Marcelle's Crinums<br>>http://marcellescrinums.com/index.html<br>><br>><br>>LINK 2: Crinums in East Texas: Notes From Marcelle Sheppard<br>>http://crinum.iconx.com/<br>><br>><br>><br>>Cordially,<br>><br>>Conroe Joe<br>>(100 F today [38 C], humid and sunny, Oxblood lilies in full bloom for 2-3<br>>weeks now)<br>>_______________________________________________<br>>pbs mailing list<br>>pbs@lists.ibiblio.org<br>>http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php<br></font></BLOCKQUOTE>