On 11 Aug 04 at 11:21, Russell Stafford wrote: > I'm afraid I cannot see the rest of the fall crocuses so lightly > dismissed, Jim. Crocus niveus, C. goulimyi, C. pulchellus, C. > cancellatus, and C. laevigatus can easily hold their own against C. > speciosus, as can C. banaticus, C. medius, and others. I would > recommend growing a medley of these to prolong the fall crocus > season. Here, C. cancellatus ssp. cancellatus is usually the > earliest (September) and C. laevigatus the latest (often blooming > into January). One difficulty with fall-winter flowering crocuses is that the flower tubes of some species are very frail. This is especially the case with C. speciosus. Have a short spell of wind and rain, and all the tubes are broken, the flowers knocked over. The results are not sightly. The thing to do is grow C. speciosus in moderately rough grass, so the dry stems of the grass support the flowrs. There may be twiggy, low-growing shrubs that would do the job equally well, but I can't name any off the top of my head. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island