Garak wrote > Obviously it's quite easy to keep drought-triggered bulbs from dormancy, > but what about others? last July i wrote to the list about a Tigridia > Phillipiana which went dormant in a rather young state in the middle of > northern Hemisphere June - sadly, it never emerged again. So I have > some new seedlings, started them earlier to give them the whole winter > for gaining strength, but I feel i should better try keep them "awake". > Drought doesn't seem to be the trigger, as last years specimen was kept > together with T. orthantha, which grew on. so: is it worth the try to > put them to the cool basement under lights in Mai? or could they be > short day plants? I'd think if they were they'd start dormancy long > before june. > > How about Ferraria crispa? my seedlings sown in fall don't seem too > strong by now, can they be kept from going dormant? what's their trigger? > I'm not familiar with that Tigridia, but many species are relatively high-altitude, cool-growing summer plants. If they get too hot, that is the end. At higher elevations, air temperatures where other species grow can be in the 25-32C / 78-90 F range. Nights even in the summer may require a heavy jacket. However, they grow in the ground, where soil is not exposed to heat, as would be the case in a small seedling container. If I keep watering Ferraria crispa seedlings, they remain in leaf until temperatures get in the 32C / 90 F range. Then they go dormant. Even small ones are surprisingly strong, and come back next fall. In your situation I would keep watering until they begin to yellow on their own. Leo Martin Zone 9? Phoenix Arizona USA