On my suburban Long Island street, Narcissus and crocus in my north-side lawn blooms a full 10 days later than those in the neglected, brown-thumb lawns across the street (they are growing these in Zoysia grass, Zone 7, still haycolored tan while the Crocuses sprout). I was racing to have the FIRST spring sprouts in the neighborhood; I'm never close, and there's NOTHING I can do about it. I need something called 'January Gold'. Please let me know if you find it. Jim McKenney <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com> wrote: Jay Yourch, in a posting dated 02/16/07, mentioned in passing that Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ was starting to bloom in his North Carolina garden. This was a bit of a revelation to me, because Jay and I are both nominally in zone 7. Furthermore, I believe that it has occasionally gotten much colder in that area than it has ever during my lifetime here in the greater Washington, D.C. area. I think I’ve read that the temperature in the Raleigh/Durham area have been known to drop to -5ºF or lower on occasion. Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ has finally come into bloom here in my neighborhood, a full month later than the plants mentioned by Jay. Obviously there is a lot more to winter than low temperatures. A friend who gardens in nearby zone 6 - on a site which slopes into the south east - regularly reports earlier bloom for some plants than I observe in my own garden. Jim Waddick recently mentioned several items which were blooming in his zone 5 Missouri garden: some of those same items are just starting to open for me here. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where my 40+ year old Iris reticulata is blooming today. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php --------------------------------- Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.