>From: arnold trachtenberg <arnold@nj.rr.com> > Jim; >I looked at getting the de Hertogh book the price tag scared me off. I >am sure it has all the info one would ever want on growing bulbs. >Arnold There is a lot of info on "The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs" by Goldblatt et al, in previous catalogues by John Watson, in most I. B. S. A. Bulletins, in P. B. S. wiki or the printed catalogues of Silverhill Seeds. Detailed information on the type of soils the individual species grow in the wild in, exposure and approximate hardiness in the wild. All this information is very different to the standard methods for producing massive quantities of hybrid tulips, daffodils, muscaris, etc., by the Dutch bulb industry. For instance, I. B. S. A. specialists researched with lots of practical experiments that Cape bulbs and corms resent very much the effect of phosphorous that is a poison to them. There are countless instances of other kinds of bulbs that grow under very precise soil conditions. Jim Shields is right in that with time most growers move more and more into using leaner mixes searching for the ideal drainage conditions that would suit most bulbs. Best Alberto _________________________________________________________________ MSN Amor: busca tu ½ naranja http://latam.msn.com/amor/