I have a couple of questions about growing Stargazer and Tiger Lilies in Zone 10. I bought some spring-planted Tiger Lily Bulbs online which ended up growing into Stargazer Lilies and I also bought Stargazer Lily Bulbs at my local gardening store but, they are having a bit of trouble sprouting. After my lilies begin to die what should I do with them? I read that in zone 10 you have to refrigerate the bulbs because they need to be cold for a while before planting them again in the spring. So when should I refrigerate them and for how long? Also, what should I put them in when I refrigerate them? My Stargazer Lily Bulbs are spring bulbs and I am planning on purchasing Tiger Lily bulbs again for the fall which will be fall bulbs. Does it matter if half of my bulbs are spring bulbs and the other half are fall bulbs? Do I have to refrigerate them at different times because of my hardiness zone or it doesn't really matter? I am thinking about refrigerating half of my lily bulbs and leaving the other half in the pots that I have them in to see if there will be a difference between them.

Hi Gean? sorry for memory lapse if not) Campanulas. Well, I do start a couple from seed, especially the biennials such as the common Canterbury bells (C.Medium)and the very tall chimney breast C (C.pyramidalis) Also, one of my favourites, The peach leaved bellflower (C.persicifolia) is very easy from seed and will seed around without ever becoming a nuisance. If I wanted a specific colour, I probably would be tempted to buy one (there are some lovely doubles which will also come largely true from seed)but in general, once you have one, you will always have more. As for the smaller, ground-covering types, the most popular (but least useful with a short bloom cycle) are the carpaticas, often called blue clips, white clips etc. I do better with the vigorous and unpronounceable C.portenschlagiana (once called C.muralis) - beg a bit of root of someone who has some, it will easily take and spread brilliantly, even in cracks and stair risers. Avoid the Dalmatian campanula, C.pocharskyana as this really is a ground coverer (although it will also grow upwards for a couple of feet and hide leggy rose bases). There are many other ground coverers such as fairy thimbles (C.cochlearifolia) and a really deep purple, C.pulla. All can be sown from seed and should flower the second season as well as rooting from basal cuttings or soft-tip cuttings, even the smalles shred. With all camps, if they start to get out of hand, a sharp tug at a handful will solve that problem as they will easily pull out. Finally, I have not grown the tall C,lactiflora from seed but this really is a lovely plant and, if you buy one, it will grow to 60cm in its first season and the following year, it will double that in height and width. The usual varieties - deep blue Pritchard's variety or the milky blue Loddon Anna. Oh yes, for a wilder garden, C.trachelium (nettle leaved) and C.latiloba will also do well from seed.The seeds are small: sow them on top of a loamy mix and do not cover unless with a thin layer of vermiculite. many of them are evergreen with lovely rosettes of foliage. There are a couple of horribly invasive ones, chiefly C.rapunculoides, a beautiful but rampant weed with huge white roots, and also the asian C.takkesimana - another tap-rooted horror. C.glomerata falls over and is the only one which requires some support - all the others are remarkably stout. If I was only allowed one, it would be the peach leaved bellflower, C.persicifolia - graceful, elegant, long flowering and easy from seed (they all respond to deadheading). Hellebores: orientalis has the most variety (colours available in peach, primrose, slate, crimson, maroon, speckled and so on), the easiest (its main pest is leaf blotch fungus but if you cut the old leaves back, this is kept under control) and the loveliest flowers although some of the species come close. If you like green flowers, hellebores are winners. The corsican hellebore has fabulous filiage too while our native stinking hellebore (H.foetidus) has the most amazing sprays of green cupped flowers (and it only pongs a bit if you bury your nose in it) The only difficult ones for me are the christmas rose, Hellebore niger, which does NOT flower at Christmas and often looks a bit ratty. Like aquilegias, they will cross pollinate and seed around but you will never be sure of what you are getting. However, there are never any duds as the basic form of the plants are so wonderfully architectural ad, at the time of year when they flower, a subtle change from the spring yellows, whites and blues. Just a couple will make a sizeable clump in a year or so....but you won't be content with just 2! They don't make good cut flowers but a common trick is to just float a few flower heads in a bowl of water. You will also find some of the orientalis hybrids have upwards facing flowers (but I love their gentle nodding) If you have cash to spare, there are some exciting crosses - H.Thibetana and H.Ericsmithii to look at and those of you in hot and dry places could consider the lovely H.lividus along with the corsican hellebore. Have fun.Apols for the many typos.

Your English is great. Depending on where the plant is presently located you might want to move it to a brighter location and give it a small amount of water. Don't overwater it. You can increase the amount of water as it gets larger. Check out this as it should give you all the info you need: http://www.horticulturist.com/mastermag4/amaryllis.htm

Hi, I purchased an Amaryllis back in December of 2011. It bloomed beautifully as you can see in the next picture. Since then I've never been lucky enough to have it bloom again. That's over 2 years without blooms. It always has leaves on it. I never fertilized it and just kept watering it. It lived on the sill of a south facing window. I never knew if it had gone dormant, which I doubt, because it always had green leaves on it. I never took it out of the pot nor did I place it in a cool dark basement. Last August, I moved from New York City where I lived and purchased the plant. I cut off the leaves and pulled the bulb off the pot and packed it in a plastic bag. I now live in Panama City, Panama in Central America. It is hot and humid here most of the year. The night time temperature does not go below 72 here in the city. I planted the bulb after it spent about 4 months in a plastic bag. It has tons of leaves now as you can see in the next picture. I noticed that the leaves are not as firm looking and green as they were a couple of months ago. Does that mean that they are going to turn brown and fall off? I don't see any new leaves sprouting out. It's never had 7 on it at the same time either. I just started fertilizing it in the last two weeks with miracle gro all purpose plant food 24-8-16. I am watering it every other day very lightly, trying to keep it moist and not wet. It's in a balcony so it doesn't get rained on. Keeping in mind that I now live in the tropics where the temperature is high all the time. My questions are: 1. Do I need to force it into dormancy? How is that done? 2. What can be done to make it bloom again? 3. I've read elsewhere that people put the whole pot with the bulb inside their refrigerator. If I choose to do this, when should I do it and what is exactly the procedure to follow? Do I cut off all leaves or wait for them to drop naturally? Do I make a straight cut across to have a cleancut? how far down? Can I put it inside a plastic bag before I place it in the fridge? How long should I keep it there? and what do I do when I bring it out? Bottom line, will it ever bloom again? Thanks