Adam, before I joined this list two years ago - which is to say before I was much aware of the variety of temptations in the southern African flora - I tried various commercial strains of Ixia, Sparaxis, Freesia and Homeria (as they were then called). My experiences suggested that there were at least two problems to be solved before they would be successful under garden conditions in cold winter areas. Because the corms were typically available in the spring, first year results were sometimes fair if the corms were planted as soon as available. But as you probably know from reading the postings on this list, most successful growers have their plants blooming during relatively cool weather. Spring planted corms here on the east coast come into bloom as the weather is getting very hot here, and the flowers suffer from that. But there is a bigger problem. In my experience, these plants are rigidly stuck on a winter growing cycle. As a result, spring-planted corms grow, bloom more or less well, become dormant, but then almost immediately come back into growth in the early autumn. Spring-planted Ornithogalum thyrsoides here started to produce new growth as the last of the flowers faded. Even digging the bulbs and attempting to dry them did not stop this growth. They then go into the winter full of new, soft growth, and suffer severely if they survive at all. In my experience, the problem with these plants is not simply that they are or are not hardy; the real problem is that they are inveterate winter growers. Not all of the plants you mentioned are winter growers. I think you will discover that it is often possible - by deep mulching and thoughtful positioning - to bring anything through the winter outside as long as it is dormant. Eucomis and Crinum should respond well to deep mulching. But the winter growers will defeat you - or at any rate, they defeated me. Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the rain last night brought out the toads; they were in full chorus late last night.