Here's why I like Jim McK's word 'oporanthous': Since I have limited space for growing things in my yard, and I also needed to make a place where I could put all my dormant pots (to protect winter-growers from the hot sun during the summertime and summer-growers from our winter rains during the wintertime), I end up having two "great" switchovers during the year when things coming out of dormancy trade places with those going into dormancy. (The two seasonal groups of plants don't always cooperate very well in synchronizing their behaviors every 6 months!) However, there is one group of summer-dormant plants that I've had to make a special place for because their typical bloom season is after the middle of our summer, but long before the fall switchover occurs. Since they seem to want to bloom in some of the worst heat of the year (today it's supposed to get up to 104°F), I don't want them too out of the way so that I don't miss them when they do bloom. Plus, I can't put them in the shelves I use for most of the other dormant pots since then there wouldn't be any space for their bloom scapes. So I have some ground space dedicated just for their placement so that they don't get watered with all the summer-growing plants, but they still can be watered without watering the non-oporanthous dormant pots. AND I can watch for and see them bloom when that finally happens, as it is right now. (Lycoris, Amaryllis, Nerines, some Crocuses, Colchicums, and Sternbergia, Urginea maritima or whatever it's called now, etc.) Here in Southern California, they will be done long before any of my winter-growers come out of dormancy or before any rains begin to fall. I think Jim's word is perfect for this group of plants I treat differently than all the other types in my collection. --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a