Crocus speciosus is the one fall crocus I always recommend for general garden use here in the Pacific Northwest and for planting elsewhere in North America, since it's tolerant of summer water and cold winters. In the garden I have 'Cassiope', 'Conqueror', 'Oxonian', 'Artabir', and 'Albus'. I also have a pot of 'Lakeside Beauty', a Janis Ruksans selection that I'm trying to bulk up. All of them persist well and, because I plant them near the house where there are fewer rodents, they don't get eaten too often. They also self-sow. John Grimshaw wrote, "The great fault of C. speciosus is that its flowers soon fall over, but in >any sort of still weather they stay up for several days and give a glorious >effect." I wonder if this falling over, which also occurs in Colchicum, happens when the flower is pollinated? It would make sense: once it's done its job, there is no reason for a flower to keep standing and attracting pollinators that otherwise would visit other flowers of the same species. Falling over would seem to be a strategy for increasing the number of flowers on a clone, or in a local population, that are pollinated and produce seeds. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA