Ten or more years ago, the late Sir Peter Smithers claimed that there must be an endogenous, latent plant virus in Nerine sarniensis. The reason for this was that feeding Nerine (broadleaf species and hybrids) with nitrogen-containing fertilizers caused them to exhibit leaf markings characteristic of viral infections. This could also, as far as I can recall now, lead to decline and perhaps death of the "infected" plants. In my Google Scholar search on Amaryllidaceae, the following entry popped up: http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/ICTVdB/… This virus might not be whatever was causing the effects that Sir Peter described. This one grows only sparsely in Nerine sarniensis. It does much better in Agapanthus. It must be transmitted mechanically, not being passed through pollen, seeds, or casual contact between leaves. The name applied is Nerine Virus X but it has also been called Agapanthus Virus X. Best wishes, Jim Shields in chilly central Indiana (USA) ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA