Bill (and we're all glad he escaped from his recent accident unharmed!) wrote: >This can serve as a reminder to all present-day breeders, and collectors of >rare plants, to make sure the fate of their collections is provided for in >their Will, as so often family members have little appreciation of the >historic >significance of what we do. Also during one's life, try to distribute >worthwhile plants as much as possible. Although I don't hybridize plants, I do grow a lot of very scarce ones, and I've done both the things Bill suggests. Not all my plants make it onto my annual surplus list, but I try to send very special ones to people who live in more hospitable climate zones where the plants are in less danger from cold winters. In two cases, I found I was the only recipient of certain seed collections who was still growing the species, and I was glad to learn this so I could get them to specialists. I also have some mystery plants (iris, tulip) from Halda collections of some years ago that I wish would increase so I could split them up. Another thing I'm planning to do is to transfer a lot of my stock to a younger friend who is a skilled professional grower building a nursery. Then when I finally abandon my rural lifestyle for a smaller place in the city, the bulbs will still be available to the public. I can't understand why some gardeners are miserly with their plants. It seems to contradict the love of nature that brings us to gardening. It is sometimes anxiety-provoking to send off a bulb to an address where I think it won't prosper, but who knows? The recipient may be ten times the grower I am, and Calochortus may flourish in Michigan. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA