It would be valuable to create a list of bulbs/geophytes, by region, that have the best chance of thriving with total neglect - no watering, no lifting and dividing, no fertilizing after the initial planting, no bulb cages or other elaborate protection, little or no pest control, ideally in the native soil with very little effort to improve it. Maybe a bit of weeding to keep them from being overtaken or shaded out, plus natural leaf litter or other organic matter to add to the soil each year. Such a list could also note the microclimate where the bulbs are seen to grow. It should also be helpful to have regional info about weedy plants that could be invasive or difficult to get rid of. The "legacy bulbs" list is a good starting point, but bulbs capable of becoming legacy bulbs would be region-specific. Here's that list: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… | | | | Pacific Bulb Society | Legacy Bulbs | | | Since this is the Pacific Bulb Society, it makes sense to start the list for Pacific coastal areas, and since I live in Western Washington, that's where I have knowledge. Others could contribute for their areas. The idea is to have the best chance for gardeners to add bulbs to any piece of land, rather than a prepared garden bed, with little more than a bulb planter, and be most likely to be rewarded with bulbs that persist for the long term. Here are some of the bulbs or geophytes I've seen persisting for 3 or more years without any additional care in the wild, unmaintained verges of my garden, somewhat in order of blooming season. Galanthus nivalisCyclamen coumIris histrioides Anemone blandaCrocus tommasinianusErythronium revolutumDaffodils of all kindsCamassia leichtliniiMuscari armenaicum - Grape HyacinthLeucojum - Gravetye's GiantBearded irisIris sibericaColchicum autumnaleCyclamen hederifoliumSternbergia lutea It appears some of the species lilies might fit into this category - I am evaluating this over time. So far, Lilium hansonii has done this for me, although it's only bloomed once so far. I'm raising a lot of lilies from seed, and most are pampered in raised beds. Eventually, they will be trialed out in more wild conditions. I need more time to create my list of lilies that will survive without care and attention. I think this type of no-work gardening is good for bulbophiles who focus on a specialized group of bulbs (in my case, lilies) but who enjoy bulbs generally and would like to have many no-maintenance flowering bulbs taking care of themselves to free up time to focus more on the special ones that might need more nurturing, pampering, and efforts to propagate. Obviously native plants should be tried for this potential, but for me at least, the fact that the bulb is native is no guarantee it is an easy project to plant and have it thrive with no attention. I've lost many native bulbs, for any number of reasons. Not that I won't keep trying. I've got a project going on now with Calochortus tolmiei, as well as some Erythroniums and Fritillaria from the west coast states. Gordon HogensonDuvall, WA - zone 7 - 50+ inches of annual rainfall - sandy, gravelly well-drained acidic soil _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…