I had high hopes for growing plants from the Bokkeveld Plateau, a high area east of Namaqualand which has cold winters and winter rain, and lots of Lachenalias that flower in early spring. It sounded as though that area had the same kind of winters that I do. Then I went to visit. It was not the same. One night when I was there, the temperature was -9C (that was a minus sign) and the next day was sunny and +20C. (yes, PLUS twenty). In other words, in one 24 hour period, there was a night like the coldest winter temperature I get, and a day like my usual summer day. How can I duplicate that? Maybe someone in Arizona can. On Feb 2, 2007, at 11:56 AM, Alberto Castillo wrote: > Lachenalias are warm climate plants, where they > receive intense sunlight during their winter growing season. All > efforts to grow them under different conditions over the decades > ended in failure. Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate mild rainy winters, mild dry summers