Jane McGary wrote: > Regarding Marguerite's wondering about bulbs she could plant in her upland > southern California garden, many of the species she mentions have a growth > cycle not suited to her climate (Habranthus, Ipheion). If I lived there I > would look more at Mediterranean and Turkish species, and species from > western South America rather than Argentina (northern CHile is southern > California in a mirror). As it turns out (and I'm very intrigued and wonder what the evolutionary history of some of these Argentine bulbs is), Ipheion actually does very well here in southern California and will even naturalize if you're not careful. It's dormant during the summer and in growth during the winter. I know from Alberto's information that it is hot and rainy during the summer in Argentina/Uruguay when Ipheion is dormant. But I've learned by accident that even if there is little to no water during the summer here, even in pots, Ipheions do quite well and act as if they were mediterranean climate bulbs. The same is true for some of the other eastern South American bulbs such as Nothoscordum (including the almost impossible to eradicate weed N. gracile or inodorum) and Rhodophiala bifida. There are a few winter growing Habranthus that are also dormant during the summer and they also do well here. It seems that if they are dormant during the summer despite not getting any water, they still survive and in some cases thrive regardless. (Hence my wondering about their evolutionary history; I wonder if they derive from summer-dry climates and have evolved to withstand hot wet soils during the summer while dormant.) Of course, this ability allows them to also be grown in locations that receive summertime irrigation here. --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a