Darts Gold is similar in habit to Diablo and there's one called Nugget that is supposedly a cross between the those two - again very similar in habit. I've had little experience with Sambucus and didn't care for what I did attempt to grow. I find it rank in habit and rather weedy looking. But other folks really like it so that's only my opinion. For another yellow foliage plant, look up Weigela Rubidor. It's not readily available, but a great plant if you like weigela. A trick for them is a complete cutback every other year right after flowering in the spring. Rubidor has a pleasant yellow foliage, a dark ruby-red flower and is tough as nails once established.

Thanks for commenting, irina. I had forgotten to update this posting. You are right it is not Eyerdom's White Madonna. As this plant grew and I realized it was not the plant I had thought, I contacted the person who sent me the leaves originally and had identified it as White Madonna. I made the mistake of presuming it was the Eyerdom plant. She advised me that this is White Madonna but the correct identification for this violet is: White Madonna (Baker) White star. Dark green. Standard I love the way this violet has grown for me. I think it is one of the best growers and bloomers that I have and I don't find it uninteresting at all. This Baker violet is a vintage as well, and, since properly identifying it, I have spoken with others who grew it in the 1970s and concurred that it was the Baker plant. From African Violets - 3

Well-grown you should hope to see a few flowers the 2nd season after sowing seed. A well-drained spot is best, somewhat dry towards the end of summer (a plant from the mediterranean after all). If your climate is very hot a little shade keeps their foliage going for longer but I certainly remember clumps back in the UK which were in full sun. My experience of bought-in bulbs is that they are often only just at the edge of flowering size - no stem simply means too small a bulb in my opinion. The stress of lifting & selling (they have only a short dormancy which is why you'll see them sold earlier than the main run of lilies) can leave them sulking a season or two. Provided the bulb is still there (one advantage of shallow planting is that your finger can flick away the soil to see), patience is all that's required. The virus susceptibility is more of an issue. More virus-tolerant than one would like, so that they'll go on growing without actually turning-up their toes when infected (lots of the old clones wouldn't set seed & thus were propagated exclusively vegetatively so they obviously can survive a long time after infection). Most people suggest growing it as far away from other lilies as possible and starting with seed-raised (& hence virus-free) stock. You might think of regularly renewing them from seed or even growing a sacrificial plant of longiflorum within the clump to test for virus as McRae suggests. Best of Luck.

Hi Kim, Madonna lilies produce a group of ground level leaves in early fall that stay evergreen over the winter. In the spring a flower stalk emerges. In summer the flowering stalk and overwintering leaves die back. I don't think late planted candidum will produce a flower stalk if they don't have time to produce their ground level leaves. If you just want to make sure your bulbs live and are willing to skip a year of bloom, go ahead and plant them. They can spend their first season growing roots and getting established a bit. Make sure you plant them with the tops of the bulbs only 1/2" under the soil. The soil needs to be basic (high pH) and well drained. They also like sun. This part is speculation, so take it for what its worth: If you want to try to get some blooms this spring (and Candidum will often skip a season even planted on time) you need to trick your plants into thinking its a little warmer than it is to get them to leaf out. You could try potting them up and putting them in a cold frame by a sheltered sunny spot of your house, putting the pots in the ground so they are insulated from wind chill. Once they have their fall leaves you could move them to their permanent garden spot. I'd try to plant the whole ball of dirt to disturb the roots as little as possible. (You don't want them to know they've been transplanted.) You could also try this on a porch or sun room, any area thats a little warmer and gets sunlight. If you or a friend has an unheated greenhouse that would probably be ideal. At this time of year a greenhouse would stay warm enough to imitate fall temperatures, but probably not so warm as to shock them when you move them outside. Unless the bulbs you got are particularly big and juicy, I'd probably go the plant now and wait an extra year route. Like Martagon, Candidum can be fussy about transplanting and "sulk" by not coming up. It might be a better investment of your effort to prepare a garden bed they like since species lilies are more particular about soil conditions than hybrids and Candidum's needs are "opposite" to other lilies. -Helen