>On this list we have often reported when the Amaryllis belladonna start to >bloom in California. Perhaps it is a rite like the Lycoris blooming in >other parts of the United States and the Crinum blooming for all of you who >love Crinum. I've had a lot of bulbs bloom for me this summer and if I have >time I'll write about some of them in another post, but the blooming of >Amaryllis belladonna for those of us who haven't had rain since May and >where the garden is a bit tired is a real thrill. **Amaryllis belladonna have been blooming here for about two weeks. I am about 5-6 hours north of Mary Sue, 15 minutes south-east of Diana Chapman, an hour and a half south of the OR border. >happening. We did have late rain, but my garden has been very dry this >summer. But we had an unusually warm summer with less fog so perhaps it was >the extra heat or extra sun. Unfortunately since I'm attending the IBSA >symposium I may miss some of this amazing display. How about the rest of >you who grow this plant? **We've had no rain to speak of since April, and our summer hasn't been particularly warm, nothing like the 90F temps we had three summers ago. I have hybrids not blooming yet in the back, but my main plants are in the front and they're the ones blooming up a storm. I got them from a fellow gardener a couple of years ago, and only some of them bloomed last year. They've had no water since April. >Mary Sue >We're back to drippy fog the last few days after all that sunshine. **And we're still at drippy fog with just a few hours of sunshine in the late morning/early afternoon. Our cistern is running dry and we've just purchased our 3rd load of water. My plants are suffering. s. -- susan hayek, North Coast of CA, USA, zone 9b, Sunset zone 17. 15 miles south of Eureka, CA, overlooking the Eel River, with a peek of the ocean.