Hi Adam and all, Crinum are a snap. Plant them deep -- bloom size bulbs about 8" deep -- and mulch well in winter. Do not plant near a terrace (at least not on the uphill side). I grow CC. bulbispermum, x-powellii, and variabile outdoors in the ground. I had three bulbs of one [macowanii X bulbispermum] cross survive out of ca. 20 seedling bulbs that were planted outdoors in the ground and checked a year later. Note that although Crinum varibile is from the winter-rainfall region of the Western Cape Province of South Africa, it is in fact an opportunisitc grower and adapts well to my mid-zone 5 climate here in central Indiana. I have small seedlings from crosses like [bulbispermum x graminicola], [bulbispermum x variabile], and many more [macowanii x bulbispermum] growing on in pots until large enough to test outdoor in the ground. I have mainly stuck with South African bulbs from the summer rainfall regions and especially the Drakensberg. Even so, survivals outdoors in the ground have been very limited. One large plant of Kniphofia northiae has survived many years outdoors in the raised rock-garden bed. There is very little protection from freezing, but the drainage is excellent. Other Kniphofia have survived under heavy mulch for a few seasons, then disappeared: citrina, hirsuta, caulescens, and sarmentosa. Moraea spathulata and other high altitude species from the Drakensberg have done poorly outdoors in the ground here. Some have not survived transplanting from the seed trays. Species you should try include: alticola, galpinii, and huttonii, as well as spathulata of course. Several Dierama plants from Diana (Telos Rare Bulbs) Chapman survived here outdoors in the ground for several years before disappearing, and they even bloomed: DD. dracomontanum, igneum, and latifolium were among these. My own seedlings of Dierama have not survived transplanting from the seed trays. I have a pot of Androcymbium melanthoides that has survived several winters outdoors in a cold frame. This one should be grown from seed, then selected gradually for cold hardiness. Mine has bloomed for the past two summers. I'm confident that a quite cold-hardy strain could be developed. Last autumn, I chickened out and put the pot in the greenhouse for the winter. I hope I have not screwed it up this by doing this! Best regards, Jim Shields ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA