>Brian wrote, >I have had F. raddeana do this, flowering OK the first year then dwarfed for >the following 2 years before saying goodbye. One of the AGS frit group >members told me they received snow melt before flowering, and then >occasional storms, so should not be kept too dry at any time. Probably why >mine gave up in pots. I've grown F. raddeana for about 15 years, having started from seed (the bulbs are now available commercially, but I don't know what the quality may be), and I do keep mine quite dry all summer, but they are in clay pots that are plunged, so there is some residual humidity at least. I've not had any try to bloom down in the ground. F. alburyana does, but I think it does that to everyone. F. tubiformis flowers right on the ground, but I think this is its normal habit and the flower (solitary) develops well. Once I had a large bulb of F. striata flower before emerging, and somebody told me it was sure to die soon, but it didn't -- it produced normal growth the next year and all succeeding years. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA