Tom wrote: > I am a newly converted South African geophyte enthusiast with a large > order of Oxalis & other Winter growers ready to pot up. Welcome, Tom! I hope you'll have fun with all your new bulbs. This is a friendly list and you're welcome to ask questions, share accomplishments, and vent about challenges anytime. The advice everyone's already given you makes a lot of sense to me. A couple of added notes: --Make sure you understand which of your Oxalis are South African and which are South American. The treatment of them is totally different. --I mentioned this in my old message to the list that Mary Sue referenced, but it bears repeating: Repot every couple of years until you get to know each species. Some of the South Africans reproduce fast in the first couple of years and then dwindle equally fast if they don't have room. I learned that the hard way. --Back when I posted my note about Oxalis, I was using a mix of 50-50 peat and perlite, which was doing well at the time. But it didn't work all that well in the long run, and I went back to 50-50 peat and sand. That holds a little more moisture in the winter. On the other hand, your climate is so different from mine (California) that you probably shouldn't pay any attention to the soil I use. Just make sure yours is both moisture-retentive and well aerated. --Keep in mind that most winter-growing South African bulbs grow naturally in bright breezy conditions with daytime highs in the 60s-70s F and lows in the 40s to 50s. They can generally tolerate overnight frost to about 20F, but not extended freezes. If you grow them like orchids - warm and humid all the time - you risk infections. --Regarding pots, I use 8-inch pots with six bulbs per pot unless the bulbs are really large. More than six and (in my opinion) they get overcrowded pretty soon and blooming declines. But the only rule is: there are no rules, only suggestions. Good luck! Let us know how they do. Mike San Jose, CA _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…