Indeed there aren't many bulbous plants in bloom, but one at least is quite dominating the garden -- Lilium formosanum (particularly when dusk calls forth its scent). My plants have had a complex journey, beginning 18 years ago with seed of v. pricei, which was indeed short and hardy, then transforming over the years into a full-sized (1.2m) but fully hardy plant. There was a good deal of coming and going in the meantime with several successful seed-sowings; the current batch has been in place since 1995 and has been divided, though not aggressively. Jim Jones Lexington, MA -----Original Message----- From: Jim McKenney <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com> To: 'Pacific Bulb Society' <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Tue, Jul 7, 2009 3:43 pm Subject: Re: [pbs] Slow time on the bulb scene I still have a few tender bulbs to plant, but by now most of that is behind me. It’s always surprising to see how some plants such as the Hymenocallis hybrids of the Ismene group pop into above ground growth seemingly over night. So do the Mexican Oxalis: I’ve known some of these to come into bloom only a few days after being planted, as fast or faster than some autumn crocus. I’ve still got glads to plant, but most are in the ground. I gave up on glads years ago because of the thrips. But if you don’t grow them yearly and skip a few years between trials, the20thrips are not a problem unless you have glad growing neighbors. One reason the summer-flowering tender bulbs were so late getting planted is that I was slow in getting the tulips out of the ground this year. In fact, lots of them remain to be dug. The rain has kept me out of the garden a lot, but it has also kept temperatures down. The lily season is at one of its peaks right now. There are roughly four lily peaks in this garden: first, there are a few species which bloom very early in early June (or even late May); then around the summer solstice, there is the huge peak of the Asiatic hybrids; in latest June and spilling over into the first half of July there are the trumpets and the oriental-trumpet hybrids; and finally, there are a few very late blooming forms which bloom in late July and earliest August. And of course there are also lilies which bloom when they feel like it – Lilium formosanum is the one most of us grow. Right now we’re at the oriental-trumpet hybrid peak, and it’s really something. When these plants are growing well, they are typically over six feet high with a massive inflorescence. Imagine a lily inflorescence three or more feet long and a couple of feet in diameter: they are an amazing sight. I do like lilies one can stand under and look up into! The stringy-tepaled form of Crinum x pow ellii is blooming too. I’ve seen more Zantedeschia blooming in gardens this year than ever before. The pot of Scadoxus multiflorus produced several inflorescences over a period of weeks – now it’s doing foliage. Summer here is bountiful! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/