> Dear John, > > This is a coastal species so may not be very hardy. > It can take freezing > temperatures as it has for me, but the lowest we > have gotten is 19 F. (-7 > C.) and that was one of those rare events. > So I can't tell you, but maybe others who grow it > can report how cold it > gets for them. > > Mary Sue Dear John and Mary Sue, I planted in Alpine, TX some Allium dichlamydeum that a family friend allowed me to collect near Fort Bragg five years ago. They never bloomed, but grew well each winter, withstanding one or two dips each season down to single digits Fahrenheit. Perhaps they resented the tepid hose water; my four years in Alpine were the worst of West Texas's current drought and I had many spring-blooming bulbs that went through their entire growth and blooming cycles without feeling a drop of rain. "We're praying for hail; we need the moisture." West Texas proverb I wish I had brought them with me to Midland. The sandy soil here may have been more to their liking (and we're getting...rain). Sincerely, Shawn Pollard