Cape Plants lists the flowering times for Albuca spiralis (in South Africa) as August to October (translating to February to May in the Northern hemisphere). It is described as found on sandy and stony slopes in the Northwest and Southwest Capes. Albuca namaquensis' flowering time is September to October and is is found on stony sandstone slopes but over a wider distribution (Namibia to the Eastern Cape.) The flowering time for Leo's plants is very curious. Some of the places that both of these species grow in nature get very little rainfall and what they get is mostly in winter so they should be able to survive a dry dormancy. I have grown Albuca namaquensis for years in the same pot. I expect I haven't even fertilized it much. It generally comes into growth in September or October and flowers anytime between February and May. After it dies down I don't water until I see signs of life. Sometimes the leaves curl and sometimes not, but I don't have a lot of light in my winter garden because of all the trees. Some people think that people who think they are growing A. spiralis are really growing A. namaquensis. According to the key in the Color Encyclopedia: 1 leaves hairy or glandular hairy, at least on the margins and often twisted or coiled A. namaquensis leaves are eglandular A. spiralis leaves are glandular There is another plant in this category, A. hallii. It has glandular leaves, but they are relatively short and obtuse with more or less sessile glands and a smooth peduncle whereas A. spiralis has a hairy peduncle and tapering leaves with slender stalked glands. Interestingly A. hallii flowers March to May (September to November in the Northern Hemisphere.) It is also found on stony slopes from southern Namibia to Little Karoo. So all three species grow in a similar habitat and the same area. It would seem easy to mix them up. Mary Sue _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…