>Jim in Kansas City: > >Have your Lycoris started to bloom yet? > Dear Boyce and all, Sorry for this late reply a combo of cable outage and busy-ness. Yes and NO. We've had record heat and high humidity, but almost no rain. I firmly belive that Lycoris bloom is initiated by rainfall. We have suffered through drought even as the nearby MO river has been flooding. Too much of both hot and wet, just not together. Anyway last week two small clumps of L. longituba sent up flower stems. One in sun and one in shade. Neither has had any supplemental water in weeks. Both look normal for flower number and stem height. But only 2 small clumps. BUT longituba is usually NOT the first to bloom. The first is usually L. sanguinea and no sign there. Then L. squamigera comes slightly before longituba. My cable outage was due to a sudden severe storm and an inch of rain. That was Sunday. I fully expect to see flowering stems coming up today or tomorrow. I'll report back then. I have been hearing of various Lycoris blooming from Alabama north in the last week to 10 days. It sure should be Lycoris season and if you've had plenty of rain you might be in for bonanza. Best to all. Jim -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +