Hi everyone, Mary Sue's description of the wild blooms makes me salivate. There is definitely yearly environmental conditions that determine blooms of these bulbs in the garden as well. Around the Bay Area, the blooms are rather weak this year. I took this photo two years ago http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… only about half of those show this year. I live about 400ft higher than where the photo was taken and the plants around my neighborhood are only in buds whereas they are in full bloom 400ft below. Nhu Northern California coast where other South African amaryllids are starting. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/