Dear Friends, With days hovering well over 90 and nights only cooling to 80 or so, it is hard time to bloom up a show, but Lycoris continue their parade of hybrids. Some pale yellow (chinensis x sprengeri) just opened today while L. incarnata are at peak in some quite large clumps of dozens of stems. The L. chinensis are going down while the L. longituba and squamigera are down to their last few blossoms. Stiill no signs of L. caldwellii, the next on schedule. Almost every faded bloom shows signs of swelling ovaries. Lycoris are quick to set seed or suggest they might. I have mentioned before and there are literature reports of the occasional seed on L squamigera, but I know of NO reports of successfully germinated seedlings. Pods swell very fast and ripe seed will be ready in a few weeks. I do have a single clump of an odd Lycoris discovered in a large planting of typical L. squamigera. It blooms after L. squamigera and the color is closer to orange than pink, but I think it is some odd hybrid, not a seedling of L. squamigera. It surely contains L. sprengeri, but what else? The color is unique and exceptionally attractive. At the other end of the garden a few self sown seedlings of Lilium formosanum began blooming yesterday. The seedlings in less than perfect locations are about 3 to 4 feet tall, but one seedling back in slightly more shade and protection has three huge pendant blooms today (more buds to open) nodding from an 8 foot tall stem.! Its height is impressive and it is great although the plants with shorter stems make for easier appreciation of the scent. There has been discussion about the genetics of stem height. I do not doubt this is true, but certainly cultivation and microclimate contribute greatly. The seedlings above all come from a limited gene pool and grow a few feet from each other. A novice might be tempted to ask if they are different cvs, clones or species! We could sure use some rain to get those late Lycoris 'moving'. Best Jim W. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +