Hi Joe and all, I think Lachenalia are strongly a matter of personal taste. I have to grow mine inside the greenhouse of course. Right now, L. rubida is in full bloom, but starting to fade a bit. Flower buds are just starting to shoot on L. viridiflora. This and rubida are probably my favorites. L. mutabilis and L. pustulata seem to be too weedy for my taste. That is, the leaves are etiolated and pale. The scapes are long, lanky, and tend to flop over. This may be due to the relatively weak sunlight here in the North in winter, at 40°N latitude, compared to the stronger winter sun they get in South Africa at ca. 33°S latitude. Besides, here they are under glass, but there they are under the wide open sky! If I were only going to grow two varieties, they would be LL. rubida and viridiflora. L. rubida increases very abundantly, while viridiflora increases much more slowly. I am also rather fond of L. aloides quadricolor and of L. bulbifera. L. bulbifera increases fast while quadricolor seems to increaser more slowly. Best regards, Jim Shields in central Indiana (USA) USDA zone 5, 40°N, 83°W, el. ca. 800 ft (240 m) above sea level Avg. minimum temp ca. -12°F (ca. -24°C), avg. high temp ca, 96°F (ca. 35°C) Avg. annual precipitation ca. 30 to 40 inches (750 - 1000 mm) ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA