Perhaps it will help with Jim's and other people's approaches to western American lilies to consider that the various species grow at quite a large range of elevations. That is, some of them are effectively alpines (such as L. washingtonianum, although there were at one time lower populations). The timing of snowmelt, therefore, affects their growth cycles. And where they don't get snow, they may get confused. Even some of the southern Californian species are mountain plants. SOme species, however, have an altitudinal range down quite low, such as L. columbianum. L. pardalinum is another that can be seen from, I would guess, about 2000 feet up to about 7000 feet. Thus, just thinking about "Pacific Coast climate" is not much help when approaching bulbs that may be restricted to habitats above the winter snow line. (e.g., Erythronium grandiflorum and E. montanum, as well as some lilies.) I pointed this out a bit when talking about the differences Ken Hixson and I experience, when his garden is probably about 1200 feet lower than mine, and I'm still below the alll-winter snow cover level. Jim is right in supposing that spring in the Pacific Northwest is cooler than in the Atlantic states. It's 90 F today, but two days ago the high was 65, and it had been chilly and wet for two weeks. A cool, variable spring is typical of this region, and many bulbs take this in their stride. So, the reason west coast growers have problems with west coast bulbs generally lies in elevational differences and in where one resides relative to the coast. For a good description of these factors, and for corresponding chapters on other parts of North America, see the "regional" section of "Rock Garden Design and Construction" (Timber Press, 2003). Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA