On a drive yesterday up the Mendocino Coast, California, we saw so many in flower you'd think they were native. In my shady garden where I have a lot planted with not many flowering each year, one spike got stepped on so it is gone and one other has appeared, but the flowers have not opened. But most where I live have been flowering for some time. If they decide to flower in my garden it is always much later than the ones growing in the sunshine. Besides water I think good light is crucial. Many of those growing along the roadside or where people have planted them do not get summer water, but some may get extra runoff from roads when it is raining and we get more rain than Andrew does in Southern California although this year was the lowest amount in the 29 years we have lived on the coast. It was more evenly distributed than the year before and that helped I am sure. Mary Sue > This is the time of year when there are usually reports of the A. > belladonna in bloom. So, I wonder why there has been only one so far, > particularly from central and northern California. In the southern > areas of the state, except for a very cautious offering last year > after heavy spring rains, it has not bloomed at all for years. With > me, blooms appear only if the bulbs are watered heavily during the > summer. The lack of rains has caused the old, large clumps to shrink > and desiccate. When and how much they bloom in this area has nothing > to do with temperature. It is dictated by water. _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…