Hello All, I have been growing Hymenocallis (Ismene?) for many years in my garden and in normal garden soil with lots of organic material added (kinda like Dahlias or Gladiolus). As soon as they get knocked down by a good frost, I just pull them up and plop them in an old wooden tomato bushel (basket) and leave them in the coldest and darkest part of the basement until they're good and dry. Then I just cut off the dry tops and let 'em sit. Throughout the winter the roots actually manage to stay rather plump to the point that I usually have to cut them back and let the cut ends dry a bit before they're planted in the spring. At this point I pull off the (many) offsets and either toss them out or share with friends. On a previous post I mentioned that this year, I won't toss them out but instead I send them to Dell to share with the group. This is a rather old cultivar that I've been growing for more than 20 years and believe me they really don't get any "special" treatment yet they keep coming back full force every year. I hope this helps. Warm Regards, Fred Cambridge (Boston) MA USDA Zone 6B