Bruce, Are they normally summer-flowering? I accidentally bloomed one last summer in the middle of September - mid-March for you. My seed were also from 2010 so don't give up hope but don't ask me my secret - I had mostly forgotten about it and last year was especially bad for weeding and care in general. Tim zone 6 - 7 Pennsylvania On Tue, Jan 25, 2022 at 6:04 PM Bruce Schroder via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > Jim > In their natural habitat, summer temperatures can be as much as 50C (122F) > with winter temperatures averaging a low of about 10C (50F). Average > annual rainfall is about 280mm or 11.1 inches and is distributed evenly > throughout most months of the year although in summer, it will all fall in > a short single burst and mostly run straight off with next to no > infiltration into the soil. The cooler months sees more drizzle type rain > which better penetrates the soil. The areas would NEVER see snow! > > The desert areas in which they grow have just experienced last week one of > the heaviest rainfalls in years so it will be interesting to see the result > of this in a week or two. Of course the rains bring hazards such as > flooding and damage to roads so the area may be inaccessible for some time > and the flowering may go unseen! > > Because of the extreme heat, the bulbs have developed contractile roots > which actually pull the bulb deep within the heavy compacted soils. The > base of the tennis ball size bulbs sit approximately 450mm (18 inch) below > the surface with an extraordinarily long neck protruding to just below > surface level when dormant. > > Although I have grown my bulbs since 2010 (from seed), if success is > measured in achieving flowering, then I have failed! It is understood it > can take 20 years or more from seed to flowering and although I am growing > mine in "better" conditions than in the wild and perhaps I will get > flowering sooner than that, I need to be very mindful of not pampering them > with too much moisture because, given their natural habitat, they would be > very sensitive to excess moisture. > > Bruce Schroder, Melbourne, Australia > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>