On 1 Jun 07, at 18:28, John T Lonsdale wrote: > Bulbs sans tunics like these frits are very susceptible to desiccation > in our heat... I think just about all frits of any provenance, not just western ones, have this problem with desiccation. Indeed, some frits (e.g. F camschatense) pretty well demand moist conditions at all times. Molly Grothaus (formerly of Portland, Oregon) once delivered a talk on her frit garden at one of the study weekends. Dealing with summertime desiccation was an issue for her. Thanks to a contractor husband, she had a large bed made of flue tiles on end, one species in each tile. As she described it, one end of the array of tiles was shadier in summer than the other end because of proximity to a small tree. Her practice when she lifted and replanted her frits was to move them to a tile a little closer to the shady end if they looked a bit withered. I presume that she gradually shuffled them around until each planting was getting the amount of shade it needed to prevent withering. Those of you trying to grow these dryland bulbs out of doors in the hot, humid east (and I grew up outside Wash DC so I know whereof we speak) might also want to steal a page from E B Anderson and plant your summer drought-loving bulbs where the roots of deciduous trees and shrubs can get at them. The roots will suck all the moisture out of the soil as the leaves unfurl, helping keep your bulbs nicely dry. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island