James, I think it is a matter of ignorance being blissful - The slope where the bulbocodium are planted is sunny and the soil is heavy clay, and thus wet/ cold. So I dumped a 50-pound bag of 3/8-inch red shale gravel and dug it in. Planted the corms, and then a groundcover of some creeping thyme. The latter serves two purposes - it keeps me from digging around to plant something new when the geophytes are dormant. And it is my theory, valid or not, that a plant in active growth in the summer must use up some of the moisture that the dormant geophyte does not want/ need. And then ignore them. They grow just fine (may this statement not be the kiss of death to their survival!) surprise me every March - hey look! there are the bulbocodium again. - and seem content with such treatment. I am afraid to "fix" what isn't broken by digging around from curiosity to see what is happening, to lift, divide, whatever. Any advice/ suggestions? Judy, where so far the snow has not yet materialized but we are parking at the bottom of the driveway as a precaution.