Jane, Thanks for your comments. Although L. autumnale is frequently quoted as 'hardy', I agree with your comment and find it is not reliably so here. It abhors ice on the leaves and a healthy clump is reduced to mush by only a couple of ice storms, or re-freezing of melting snow. It is hardier without a covering of snow/ice and, like many of the winter-green crocuses, performs just fine at air temperatures down to 10F, as long as the ground doesn't freeze hard for extended periods. I grow my L. autumnale in pots now. Crocus goulimyi, for example, shows no leaf damage in response to cold air and frozen ground (as long as there is excellent drainage) but the leaves burn back badly from the tips if there is a lot of snow and ice. Leaf burn doesn't seem to affect bulb increase though, most of the hard work is done by the time the end of winter comes and the leaves are a mess. J. Dr John T Lonsdale 407 Edgewood Drive Exton Pennsylvania 19341 USA 610 594 9232 - phone 801 327 1266 - fax Zone 6b