I have montbretia growing from cracks in the concrete around my back steps and haven't been able to get rid of it. It is very persistent here in Seattle, and can be a pest. I have not seen it invading native areas or anything--it's just a nuisance in the garden. I don't spray, so just keep pulling it. I have C. 'Lucifer' which is tall, red--and handsome--and well- behaved and the yellow 'Solfatare' has nice bronzy foliage. There are a couple I've had a difficult time growing, I've been told it may be due to the time of year I transplanted them, or the location I planted them. 'Emily McKenzie' and 'Culzean Peach' (a rare one I got at Heronswood) both bit the dust. I could get addicted to crocosmias-- they are great fillers between perennials. Question: I recently bought a plant called Urginia macrocentra and can't find any information on it. The leaves are round and hollow like a reed (pointed at the tip) and about two feet tall. The tag says it has a white flower in late summer, gets 3 ft. tall and is hardy to zone 9(?). The foliage is very dramatic...I'm curious about the flower and where I should site this plant. I got it from a nursery here near Seattle that bought a lot of Heronswood's inventory when they were closed by George Ball (burpee co.). They only moved the hardier plant inventory back east to their nursery there and sold off a lot of the zone 7/8/9 stuff locally. Mary Gutierrez Northwest Garden News http://www.northwestgardennews.com/