Soultan....apologies are due, I guess! I meant to ask if anyone thought that this was an H. Leopoldii "hybrid". The graphic that you provided in your response was the first thing I saw in my websearch. This is the website that made me ask: http://www.bulbsociety.org/ABOUT_IBS/Publications/HERBERTIA/vol53/PapilioProgeny.html When I typed in H. Leopoldii I got many different images, from potentially reliable sources. I thought Leopoldii was a "class" of hippeastrum, not a specific species. On the form from KAVB it asks for classification, so I spent hours looking on the net to try and find out what "Classification" meant in terms of Hippeastrum. My next best guess is just "hybrid", but that's so generic. There is a H.Leopoldii hybrid that looks very much like a Minerva, so I was not sure if it H. Leopoldii was a particular plant or what. I didn't mean to offend you. Honestly....there are many items that look like Exotic Star and many that look like Minerva under H. Leopoldii Hybrids...so I was just asking. Thanks...and I'm sorry if your feelings were hurt by my response. It was not intentional. Kristi

Did the seedling come up with the red leaf at it's first emergence? Is the bug a fungus gnat?

This is just my opinion, but if you live in Zone 5, I believe that your seedlings will die if you leave them in the ground!! It won't hurt your seedlings to grow year round under lights. You could put them in gang pots at this point in time, and bring them in and put them under lights when the daytime exterior temp is about the same as your interior temperature (that would be the least shock). When bulbs are little seedlings, you don't have to force them to go dormant since that's what the bulbs do in order to get ready to bloom. So, until the bulbs reach blooming size, they can just grow and grow!! Grow them under lights for your winter and they can be put back outside next spring til the early fall to soak up sunshines! Again, just my 2 cents, since I live in zone 8 and the bulbs here can grow outside in the ground with mulch. People up north...chime in!! :-) Kristi Spring, TX

Hi again, I am now able to access your pictures, I don't know what was wrong the first time. Anyway, you probably do have Minerva although Mambo is quite similar but I don't think that they have actually sold Mambo for years now but I could be wrong. May times these bulbs in kits or from big box stores are severely stressed and may bloom strangely. I think that another year your flowers will be better. As for your Red Lion being virused the sure fire way is to see if the leaves have a mottled look that will only show if the bulb has been exposed to hot sun and very warm temperatures. If you have any doubts about the health of Red Lion then keep it away from your other bulbs until it's had a chance to experience the summer outside. I don't think the mold is an indication of virus though. Stress and poor storage before he came to you is most likely the reason. Donna