I grow the large and small forms of U. maritima here in East Tennessee. The petite form is presumably a diploid and the big ones are evidently natural tetraploids or maybe even hexaploids. I ordered five of the large from Easy To Grow Bulbs and was totally unprepared for what arrived: a mesh bag with five enormous bulbs (6" or so) each with a green sprout about the size of a banana. After several years they're much bigger and many have begun to multiply. They winter at the south end of a coolish epiphyte house, and when the foliage dies back in early spring I stop watering and move them to a bench at the west end of the carport, where they get 1/2 day full sun and no water whatsoever until mid Oct or they begin to grow, whichever comes first. I don't get every one to bloom every year, but usually have one bloom, and it's scary how fast the bloom scape grows, easily 4"/day once it gets going. Scilla maderensis and S. peruviana get the same treatment; if they summer in the greenhouse and get water, they never go completely dormant and won't bloom. I'll upload some photos when I have a few minutes to dig them out. But my main message is that you can grow these monsters even if you don't live in the Mojave desert where they're grown for cut-flower production. But you have to create a spot where they get full sun and no watering for summer. Bob in Zone 7 _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>