I've picked up most of my alstro's at mass merchandisers like Lowe's, and a couple even at grocery stores, around the spring holidays, particularly Mothers Day, when they sell them as blooming potted plants. When I see a color I don't have, I buy it. I also have the dwarf agapanthus. It has proven completely hardy here for me, and has the nicest dark blue blooms in July. Another plant not in its zone but which has come back long-term and bloomed for me is Crinum.

We've been growing them here for at least 5 years or longer. I happen to like sweet Laura, but many do not. It probably has to do with the fact they grow taller than some of the hybrids.They are more inclined to sparsely spread and don't seem to clump as readily as most perennials. I let mine come up through shorter plants and bloom over them. In more sub-tropical regions with loose sandy soil, they tend towards invasive. Our heavy clay soil keeps this to a slow creep at the worst. I have them in various levels of shade and full sun. As long as there is weekly moisture, they seem to be happy in both places. Too much direct, dry heat will start to damage the leaves...so they probably prefer at least a few hours of shade. The hybrids with the pinks,reds,purples, yellows and white blooms can be coaxed into returning by siting in some winter warmth. I've had probably 90% return for multiple seasons. Sweet laura blooms once or twice sporadically, probably depending on moisture. The hybrids bloom almost continuously once they start. They're used commercially for cut flowers because they last so long after being cut. A friend of mine went to the Park's sale and was even more disappointed than last year. I'm just curious what your experience was.

There is a seed swap in www.gardens.co.nz in the links, but like Aust we have strict laws on seed exchanges. Heather

I have - or had - a whole bunch of them. They even self-seed in my garden. I'm sure something will survive but: some animal attacked one of my plants that I grew out from E. 'Sparkling Burgundy' seed that was more freckled. Dug the bulb up apparently to try to eat, then gave up when it proved not very tasty. So I might have lost that. 'Sparkling Burgundy' itself was incredibly late to return after the cold winter in 2013-2014, and if it didn't rebuild enough strength might be kapoot. No matter, they are practically ubiquitous these days. Another seedling I grew out from SB had an interesting grayish-red color, like SB softly sprayed with metallic silver spray paint. I gave a few bulbs of it away in the DC area in the mid 2000s, but lost the clone myself at some point. The little plant you refer to Nancy is probably one of the new odd looking little hybrids derived from E. vandermerwei etc. As with the dwarf forms of various other forbs and geophytes they don't seem as vigorous as the big species, and though I bought a cute one at the Swarthmore plant sale on a whim I will probably not mess with them further. It kind of sulked last summer. Did not seem vigorous at all at disappeared by August. I'd hoped that as a selected variety it would do better than pure E. vandermerwei which is very finicky in a continental climate. Oh well, at least I was fleeced for a good cause LOL.