On 28 Nov 2009, at 2:17, Dennis Kramb wrote: > Years ago I had a solid orange-flowered Hippeastrum, and years before > that I had a yellow-green flowered Hippeastrum. I felt a bit nostalgic > and went shopping for them and couldn't find anything remotely like what > I wanted in any of the stores. > > Was I just randomly lucky to find them in stores years ago? Or have > those varieties disappeared from general commerce? All I found in the > shops this week are white, pink, and red ones. My observations of the hippeastrum selections available around now every year suggest there's an enormous number of varieties, but most are only available once in a long while. I once found 'Danube' in the local Canadian Tire store; had never seen it before, and haven't seen it since. If you like hippeastrums and have some special ones you particularly enjoy, take great care of them because there's no guarantee you'll be able to buy replacements if yours die. If I were filthy rich (but I'm not and never will be) I'd have a special greenhouse devoted solely to hippeastrums in dozens, if not hundreds, or varieties. Nice to dream, eh? -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island http://maps.google.ca/maps/…