Sorry folks for joining in on the discussion rather late. I can second John Lonsdale's comments on the suitability of fall crocus. John is about 350 miles south of me, with the advantage of approximately 1-1/2 USDA weather zones milder than my northern Massachusetts location (within 2 miles of the New Hampshire border). Even so, I am delighted and inspired by the good results trying fall crocus for these last 4 years. In the past few years I have had reliable yearly bloom on C. niveus, speciosus forms, goulimyi, serotinus forms, pallasii, and a few others. My favorite by far is C. tournefortii. For photos galleries of C. tournefortii and goulimyi, check out the following link on my web page: http://plantbuzz.com/Alpine-L/ATOW/… ...or go to http://www.plantbuzz.com/ and click on the What's the Buzz > "Favorite Plants of 2003" link. If winter-like weather comes on too early, and we don't get the blessing of our so-called "indian summer" (late autumn mild temperatures), then the autumn crocus can take a beating. But that's ok, because the bulbs have a strong capacity to produce a succession of flowers... the glorious C. niveus particularly strong in this department, and invariably some flowers will appear to grace the day, even in the worst of years. The latest blooming species for me is C. pallasii ssp. pallasii. It's one of the few crocus that keeps it's flowers open, even on dim cloudy days. The flowers are deliciously fragrant. There is a photo of C. pallasii accessible from the link shown above, as part of the photo gallery for Crocus tournefortii. By the way, the last two winters experienced some record breaking cold, after nearly a decade of relatively moderate (for this area) winters. As for why some of these crocus appear hardy in a very cold place, compared to a milder climate like Oregon, I don't really have an answer for Jane McGary... except to say, that when I lived in the Seattle Washington area, I lost a good number of plants that were rock solid hardy in New England, but died in winter in the much milder Pacific Northwest. I might have to do with hardening off, or with bulbs, getting that deep drying and warmth in summer, or here in northern New England once frozen in winter, the ground typically staying frozen until we reach the most risky time of year... late winter and early spring when alternate freezing and thawing becomes the greatest risk. Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!