>>>>>K. caulescens tolerated freezing and thawing in the at-that-season extremely wet ground, and Rod said something to the effect that "it probably feels right at home - that's very like conditions in the Drakensberg". Hi Ellen and All, Yes I hope Rachel can join in too is she's not busy. However my experience is slightly different as I have noticed a distinct difference in the hardiness of what could be termed as 'hardy' Kniphofia. I have found the species like caulescens, thomsonii var. snowdenii and brachystachya are probably less hardy with regards their (cold / wet tolerance) the higher the altitude they are collected and have found these plants to prefer drier conditions and probably a little more winter light. I have habitat collected forms of K. caulescens here that were collected from seed from over 10,000 feet in Lesotho. The plants have a very different habit from what we would consider normal garden caulescens, and they are much smaller, dwarfer plants, and spread at a much slower rate. I have also found that these plants are more deciduous than the your average caulescens and may lose all their leaves during harsh frosts, and thus loose a certain amount of their natural protection. I completely agree though that in general that quite a few Kniphofia can tolerate very wet / cold conditions. Three years ago we had one of the wettest winters on record, the plants didn't suffer at all, infact they put on so much root during the winter that they were nearly impossible to dig. I must add though, that the wetter the winter here, the higher the average temperature, and thus the roots were able to grow all through the winter. This was also noticed with Crocosmia, as corms were between 50 -75% larger than normal, and without being swollen; so much for dormancy. The main problem I have here with Kniphofia is that in this month in particular I can have temps of 15-18C by day and -4C by night, and on very wet ground, and thus could suggest that their dormancy is the key factor to their survival. Kniphofia will literally grow all year round if the temperature is right, thus in colder areas they probably switch off for a while. Whilst in areas like mine the switch is proverbially switched on and off all the time which isn't neccessarily helpful at all, and in particular to Kniphofia it could lead to the rotting of soft tissues and sudden death by violet root rot, one of the worst Kniphofia diseases. Similarly I have found here that if grown in pots, Kniphofia generally like to be kept on the dry side during winter, if kept too wet they will rot for a pastime. Hope this helps. Best Wishes, Dave (Plymouth, UK) --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com/). Version: 6.0.577 / Virus Database: 366 - Release Date: 03/02/04