On 6 September Lee Poulsen wrote of the Hippeastrum collection at the UCSB greenhouse. I used to visit the UCSB lath house at lunch times in the 1990's. I saw some Hippeastrum bloom but some never bloomed. I took many photos (not digital back then). When they thinned out the collection drastically to make room for the new greenhouse many of us took home pots of bulbs. The one Hippeastrum I took was unlabeled and has never bloomed for me, just leaves. But if someone wants it they are welcome to it, providing they promise to keep propagating the Lapeirusia laxa 'cruenta' which grow as weeds in the same pot. This "weed" stowed away with some pots that came from UCI to UCSB many years ago. I collect and spread the seed which grows readily here. The blue 'cruenta' bloom at a different time than the white and orangey L. laxa so I dont think they ever cross. Every so often an unexpected bloom appears in the back yard. The "teaching garden" that got dug up and dumped on the free plant pile meant those bulbs were completely unlabeled and since some were in leaf had to be planted immediately without even taking time to photograph the bulbs. The Physostegia that stowed away with those clumps of dirt is blooming now. And the white A. belladonna just now sending up stalks were rescued from that same pile. The Velthemia held out for years then got frosted. The Homeria and the tiny Zepher rain lilies died, Im ashamed to admit. That must have been years ago because the Dierama I took then are 2-ft-wide clumps now, blooming 6 feet tall every year, with generations of their offspring scattered around the yard. - gastil