Hi Gang, I have to brag about Aloe cooper, a deciduous Aloe. OK, it is not really a bulb, but it surely is geophyte-like. In any event, it is not too unrelated to Bulbine and Bulbinella, but it has a more pronounced underground storage organ. It is supposed to be hardy well into zone 8, but I don't know for sure. In this area it has only seen 23 F (-5 C) for a night or two. In fact, such temperatures didn't knock down the leaves much though they did burn a bit. Maybe the plant is deciduous in very dry climates and it never has a chance to die back here in the greater Houston, TX area. I grew the plants from seeds purchased at Silverhill Seeds. They germinated easily, grew quickly in summer heat and ample water, and shrugged off their first winter. Two plants started blooming when they were about 18-20 months old; these 2 plants make lots of offsets and produced a single bloom stalk each. Perhaps this next season they will really perform. I plan to move them up from gallon cans into 2- or 3-gallon containers. They clearly want to get larger. They don't set seed on their own. They don't even seem to accept their own pollen. To encourage them to set seed is easy enough; I just use a small paintbrush and insert it into the flowers beginning on the day they open. I keep the brush dry and indoors in-between sessions. As near as I can tell the pollen is viable on day 1, and the stigma is receptive on day 2. However, I just make sure to visit each flower with the brush several times over the course of 2 or 3 days. Obviously, 2 or more plants are needed because I was unable to encourage them to accept their own pollen. LINK: Information from PlantzAfrica.com http://plantzafrica.com/plantab/aloecooperi.htm/ I don't think the flower is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, but it is charming in its own way and the plants are generous, producing numerous flowers. Perhaps the plants would do well in different soil in a drier climate. However, I plant them in a mixture of scoria (lava rock), pumice, coarse sand, and just a bit of humus. I'm trying some other grass aloes, but so far A. cooperi has been the most vigorous and the fastest growing. Perhaps this next season will see flowers on other species. Cordially, Conroe Joe Temperatures predicted near 32 F tonight (Zero C).