I know nothing about sources for Eremurus species; the only material I've worked with in recent years is almost certainly of garden origin. But I have learned a thing or two about Eremurus culture in our climate. Arnold cited winter wet as a problem for Eremurus in our eastern North American climate. I hope he is wrong, because I never make any effort to protect my plants from winter wet. In fact, in a normally cold winter, there is not much winter wet because the wet is frozen solid. There are however two times in their growth cycle when I'm convinced they need intervention on the part of the gardener. One is in late winter (or rarely even in mid to late fall) when the sprouts appear above ground. Keep something handy to cover them on nights when the temperature drops below freezing. The other critical time is summer: if they are not kept dry they are likely to disappear. I suspect that Eremurus, like so many other plants which originate in dry summer areas, are mostly useless as garden plants for us. That is, they are useless unless you accept covered beds as a normal part of the garden scene. But that doesn't mean they can't be grown here. Several years ago I planted two Eremurus (one the hybrid 'Romance' and the other nominally E. robustus) in a raised bed which is covered during the summer. They have both gotten better yearly. The plant of 'Romance' was run down when planted in this bed: it has bulked up nicely since being moved into this bed but has not yet bloomed. The nominal E. robustus blooms every year or every other year and is impressive. If hand pollinated it will set seed. Of the three species names one sees on most bulb lists (bungei/stenophyllus, himalaicus and robustus) those sold as bungei might be true to name. I have my doubts about the other two, but for garden purposes you're likely to get something which answers to the catalog description other than name. Somewhere around the house I have photos of the blooming Eremurus robustus and E. elwesii obtained from the Scheepers company back in the mid '60s. My mother or sister took the photos with a Polaroid camera and sent them to me (I was in the Army at the time). I remember that the rootstocks I planted that year were much bigger than any I have seen in commerce since. And the resulting plants were spectacular and bloomed in the eight to nine foot range. By the time I got home from military duty there was no trace of them. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the rains have brought up more autumn crocus. 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/