When we discuss how we grow certain bulbs, I think it's necessary to mention where we live. Cody, who posted recently, lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington, where it may be safe to keep dormant bulbs "against a sunny south-facing wall," unwatered and with at least 15 days of high temperatures in summer. I live a couple of hundred miles south of him, near Portland, Oregon, and I'd kill a lot of bulbs if I did that in summer. Portland is in an inland valley, east of the Coast Ranges and west of the Cascade Range, and has more sun and lower humidity than Seattle in summer. If you live in California, don't do that at all, please. British gardening books often recommend "summer baking" for potted geophytes, but we have to consider the climate differences where the author is living (some parts of the British Isles get much more sun than others, and/or greater summer humidity). I mention humidity, rather than just rainfall, because it can affect soil moisture in pots. Remember, too, that many (though not all) dryland geophytes keep their bulbs deep in the soil, where temperature and to some extent moisture are moderated. I manage soil moisture for dormant bulbs by keeping them plunged in sand and covered against rain. Half my collection is sprinkled lightly a few times during the dormant period, and half is not, depending on (1) whether the bulbs are in pots or directly in a raised bed, and (2) the climatic conditions they have adapted to in nature. The pots I use are either terra-cotta or plastic mesh (used for hydroponic and aquatic growing), not solid plastic. Some bulbs seem to break into growth in response to temperature, and others more to moisture. Some may just be "timed." This year we had significant rainfall in September, which is unusual, and some fall crocuses flowered a month or more earlier than they did in the roofed bulb house. Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA On 12/19/2019 11:50 AM, Cody H wrote: > This year I put my summer dormant bulbs (both South African and > Californian) in their pots against a sunny south-facing wall, where temps > probably break 100F at least 15 days during the summer. In that location, > they receive no rain, and I didn’t water them at all, even the (relatively > few) amaryllids. I just repotted them all and most are looking very > good—healthy roots and not dessicated, and many are beginning to grow. > > The year before I kept them in the basement, where the temp rarely hits > 75F, and although the bulbs looked fine when I reported them that fall, > many of them failed to break dormancy that winter and I lost quite a few to > rot. I will be putting them against that south facing wall again this > summer! > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…