Hi Daniella, Mine get no water at all, but again, they are well-established by the time they go in the garage the first time for the winter so the soil will stay barely damp for a couple of months in all likelihood because they are in large pots with no leaves. My species from South Africa and Madagascar are in the basement (more tender) in small pots and get no water at all and are bone-dry, but that is normal for where they live. The garage is attached which is why it never gets below freezing. Best of luck with yours :o) I did just get in a really rare Crinum acaule from South Africa and I will keep it growing through the winter because as far as it is concerned it is the start of summer and I want to make sure it thrives after being shipped around the world at considerable expense :o) Dan

Sounds like you have a few good suggestions, Blossomgirl. One option that I haven't heard floating around is to simply repot. No chemicals needed. The larvae live in the medium. No medium, no larvae. You can also use a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap as a drench, and that should kill larvae and adults in the medium alike. The key is also to run your plants drier so you kill off the larvae that thrive in moist environments. I would also like to correct a couple misconceptions I have read in this thread: 1) the larvae do NOT eat orchid roots or algae. They eat the fungus in the soil, nothing more. hence their name Fungus gnats. Proper treatments for commercial production always include a fungicide. 2) the presence of gnats does NOT necessarily indicate that the medium is too wet. Gnats are resilient little buggers and survive on less moisture than you think. I've had plants stay bone dry for a couple weeks, only to water and have them still be there. They can be pretty difficult to get rid of. The "too wet" mantra is a bit outdated, especially when you consider there are a lot of plants , like spathiphyllums and caladiums, whose preferred moisture level is definitely on par with ecology of gnat larvae. It makes sense if you have gnats on a cactus or other dry-thriving plants, but not with the majority of other plants we have in our collection

Thanks Jodi! These bulbs were bought off of ebay as a gift for me, I didnt see the auction/s personally, and the gifter said the only info was that they were pink & wine, which they came labeled as. I am figuring they are the more common type, but ya never know? I did browse through all the crinum auctions over the last several days, ongoing and ended auctions..no luck. I am figuring that the "wine" one may be 'milk & wine', but then again, since the other is just labeled 'pink', the other may only say 'wine' referring to the color of the blooms. Whatever they are, I am sure I will love them and they will be beautiful. I guess I should put them in a bigger pot, they are in a pretty little one right now just till I figure out what I'm doing, and so they can be on top of the fridge with that lil bit of bottom heat. I think DH would pitch a cow if I put a big old ceramic pot up there, lmao! not that I would, but I could just see that scene playing out in my head! Hi Patricia! Thanks, I wish I could put them in the ground. We'll see what they look like after they bloom, maybe if they are a hardier type, or even to zone 8, I may be able to get away with mulching them real good over the winter. I have had other plants survive for a few years here that are supposedly zones 9 and up..we'll seeeee :) Dumb question here...are they evergreen in warmer zones? Would the foliage die down in say, zones 8 or 9 and come back in the spring? thanks again guys! Daniella

The soil is a mix between MG General Potting soil and a cactus citrus mix for drainage. I water them 2-3 times a week very lightly ( generally little to no water comes out the bottom of the pots). I only fertilized them once lightly about three months after they had started growing with a liquid fert mix from "organic choice?" The fazli is about a foot and a half from the flourescent light and 2-3 feet from the 60watt incadesent light, which I only started back up yesterday, my last bulb burnt out 2-3 weeks ago. The little tiny haden (i believe) is 2 feet further away. The flourescent light is on from 7:30am until 7:30 pm or so with a few breaks during the day. The incandescent light is on intermittently between 10:30am and 3 pm. I live currently in upstate ny, st lawrence county (zone 3a-3b). How would you reccomend acclimating them to the light. And I've also read that mangos are very susceptible to salt burn, should I consider leaching the soil?