Hi Joe and all, I've not in the past checked for when the crinums outdoors lose their green foliage, but I'll try to do that this year. We have C. bulbispermum, C. x-powellii, C. variabile, C. [bulbispermum x lugardiae], C. 'Catherine', C. 'Emma', and some "J.C. Harvey" type hybrids growing outdoors in the ground. Some of these are growing right next to a greenhouse, so their bulbs are probably never subjected to actual freezing temperatures. All of them however eventually lose all their foliage in winter, here in Indiana, USDA zone 5. We are ready to test some more crinums outdoors in an open bed -- not close to a greenhouse -- this winter. We've lined out some [bulbispermum x variabile] and some [bulbispermum x graminicola] seedlings. We've also planted a few seedlings from two different batches of C. lugardiae in the ground. We tried a row of ca 20 seedling bulbs of [bulbispermum x macowanii] out in the field some years ago. Only three of the seedling survived the winters. After 2 or 3 winters, I lifted those 3 survivors and now grow them in large pots. I am hoping to use them for breeding when they finally start to bloom. Regards, Jim Shields in central Indiana (USA) At 08:19 PM 7/23/2006 -0500, you wrote: >I have some C. bulbispermum plants in my yard. The foliage stays green all >winter, even when temperatures have dropped briefly to 23 F (rising to well >above freezing the next morning. Similarly, C. x powellii types are >essentially evergreen. > >Essentially all other Crinum plants I grow are burned at 28 F and most die >back completely with an hour or two of 25 F. > >Does anyone know at what point these plants lose their folaige to frost? > >Cordially, > >Joe ************************************************* 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