Hi, 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? Greetings from Germany where my front garden drowns in a sea of blue Chinodoxa... Martin Am 03.04.2016 um 06:10 schrieb Kipp McMichael: > All of this applies to mature, flowering-size specimens. As seedlings in their first year or 2, these plants will happily keep their leaves year-round if given water. As they mature, the bulbs develop their own seasonal preference and will start going dormant even if they still get water. > For best results, I'd wait to plant your seedlings in the ground until they are 3 years old or so (and grow them in at least gallon size pots until then). Although a certain traditional wisdom is to transplant when dormant, I find the bulbs do quite well when transplanted in leaf, too. I would plant the B. disticha now as they will likely be summer growers. I would wait until October or November to plant the others...-|<ipp > -- Martin ---------------------------------------------- Southern Germany Likely zone 7a