> Pabellonia incrassata grows in very dry, rocky soils quite near the >coast, with large Copiapoa cacti and xeric shrubs, and the most >robust plants seemed to be down near seasonal drainage gullies on >sloping banks. If I were Diane, I would not plant any outdoors on a >bet! Jane, Many of the small islands around here have native cactus and all but two Cyclamen species grow well outside on them, even ones that are grown in pots in England. (I forget which the two are, but persicum, libanoticum, cyprium, africanum are fine.) Is there any chance that such an island garden would approximate the area you describe? I was planning to try only the most likely to succeed, not all the species. I thought maybe purpurea could be the one. I have 600 seeds of it, so I figured a few of them could show if they have any hardiness genes. The rest will be protected inside my cold greenhouse. Alberto mentioned Leucocorynes should be frost-free, but is there one species that has a possible chance of growing outside? We do get cold winters without warning about every ten years, but having the leaves killed off every so often might not kill the bulb. Alberto also mentioned how deep the bulbs grow, so they shouldn't freeze, as I can remember the ground freezing only twice in the 60 years I've noticed such things. (It was frozen perhaps 15 cm deep.) -- Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada maritime zone 8 cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually) sandy soil