On 3 Sep 2011, at 9:55, Jane McGary wrote: > The description of the wild habitat published several years ago in > the Chilean botanical journal Gayana reminded me of the habitats of > deciduous Lewisia species in the North American West: dirt and scree > slopes, very moist in spring from snowmelt and dry in summer. In > fact, I enjoy growing Lewisia oppositifolia and L. brachycalyx next > to Tecophilaea; they flower at the same time and are beautiful > together. Another pretty combination is with the deep yellow > Fritillaria pudica. Would it be fair, then, to describe tecophilaea as a snowmelt species? I ask because to my small mind, snowmelt species are quite difficult to grow in captivity, but tecophliaea is reasonably easy to grow. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada