On 7 Apr 03 at 18:26, jennifer.hildebrand@att.net wrote: > I'm in sunny Riverside, certainly NOT a cold climate. > ...[If & when I move to the Big Chill] my growing collection of > South African and other Mediterranean bulbs might have a big move > to make. ...All advice appreciated! Successful management of plants under cover during winter involves more than just keeping the frost at bay. Two particular factors come to mind regarding those that actively grow during the winter: light levels and air movement. Move your sun-loving tender plants to, say, Rochester NY, where the winters are long, cold, and dreary, with sunless periods up to a month long, and your plants -- at least those of them with aerial portions -- will suffer from low light levels. The further north you are, the worse this is; ditto for the cloudier locales. (Rochester gets a lot less winter sun than, say, Calgary, Alberta.) Plan on providing supplementary illumination for best results, while keeping the temperature as low as practical. There's something of a catch-22 in this because lamps bright enough to do the job will tend to warm the house up unduly, thus requiring even higher light levels. Air movement is another neglected technique. The orchid fanatics all seem to have little fans stirring the air in their greenhouses, but I've never seen such an apparatus in an alpine house -- not that I claim wide experience of such edifices. Air movement will help prevent diseases and pests that thrive in a stagnant atmosphere. It will also reduce condensation on foliage and flowers, and may prevent out of the way corners from freezing. Comments? -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island