Hippeastrum roots like periodic dryness and they do like airy soil, but they won't "rot" unless they're planted in clay or something; I don't think you have to worry about root rot in any pot that is able to drain. I have planted hippeastrums in pots that are 12" high and after less than a year the roots come out of the drain hole in the bottom. They eventually fill all the available space and finally, yes, some roots will emerge above the soil's surface, but they are already growing downward as well. I think hippeastrums are naturally epiphytes - I have definitely seen photos of them growing on low, rotting tree stumps - and I think that in order to do that, they'd need anchoring roots that penetrate deep to anchor them. I've mixed strips of shredded cardboard in soil so that it cements together into a pretty firm block, and the roots seem to lock into that very tightly. But the key is to plant the bulb high; they are much less likely to get wobbly that way. I don't know why. As for companion plants... a few years ago I dug up some creeping wood sorrel from a lawn and kept it as a house plant. The crimson-red leaves turned olive green in the relatively softer light of the windowsill. It looks like a small-leafed shamrock, with lots of small yellow flowers. One of the unique features of creeping woodsorrel is that the tiny seeds "shoot" at high velocities from the ripe seed pods as a form of dispersal. It can be quite shocking the first time you hear or see a seed pod explode in what sounds vaguely reminiscent of velcro unzipping. The seeds can travel 3-4 feet or occasionally more, judging by the ones that I have found stuck on the glass of the window, the wall, and occasionally the ceiling (they have tiny hooks that stick on cloth and they might be sticky when fresh, I'm not sure what allows them to stick to glass). The seed pods can be provoked to explode when they are gently squeezed (if they are ripe), but some also explode all on their own 15 minutes or so after the plant is watered. The fun thing about that plant is that it is actually well-adapted to being a "weed" in houseplants (or as I say, it "naturalizes") because of the way the seeds shoot, and I often find the young plants growing in other pots on the same windowsill. If you allow them to grow they'll become a self-sustaining population. They grow quickly and start blooming when they are still pretty small; they look ratty eventually but when that happens I like to crumple the plant and stuff it under the soil, and fresh new stems and leaves will emerge. Or you can uproot them and toss them out because after just a few weeks it's already bloomed and re-seeded elsewhere. It's a fun thing to grow as a companion plant in other plants; if you're up for it you can try it in hippeastrums. I would just advise you to keep them safely indoors and out of your garden at all costs because they will become an uncontrollable weed.

Oh, Sierra, you had me laughing out loud with your comments about deadheading. I do spend many hours deheading. There is simply no way to keep up with the volume I have. For the two months of their flowering season, I probably spent an hour and a half a week just deading sunflowers last year. Those aren't so bad because they are easy to reach. But honestly, I'd rather yank them than break my back bending over to deadhead those low growing marigolds. Though I have to admit they were rather spectacular, flowering in that volume. That many marigolds have a distinctly skunky odor. They've all been pulled out of the plot and burned, but there are nonetheless thousands of seeds left behind. This spring, early on, I'll water to encourage sprouting, then I'll dig them in as green manure. Lorna

Hi, Has anyone planted ipheion (spring star flower) bulbs with their oriental or asiatic lilies? They smell like onion when the bulb is crushed/broken but they're liliaceae too. Thanks in advance. Laisan

I was mapping and recording in the rain this week, as well as fencing out the rabbits. Well at least I am not too weird: my neighbor was out doing garden work also. What you need, Dave, is a work light-like they use in construction. We toured a Rochester garden once, and the owner revealed that he regularly did garden work in the dark. Had a nice worklight set up. Even rototilled at night. Fantastic landscape on the side of a bluff, "hillbilly style".