Jane McGary wondered about the conditions here in Maryland which might have prompted my Tecophilaea cyanocrocus to bloom early. I think we can confidently rule out summer moisture: my plants get no water from the time they die down until sometime in the fall when I begin to water them again. It's that "sometime" which is probably the answer. Because of the odd weather we experienced last fall, I did not begin to water the bulbs in my protected frame until sometime well into November. As a consequence (or so it seems to me) everything in that frame is comparatively late this year. Now on to a related topic. Last year I purchased a bulb of what I think of as "Lycoris aurea of commerce". I'm not sure what this really is. Many years ago I grew it as a pot plant and when it bloomed I decided it was L. traubii. The plant I have now has foliage which is distinctly on the yellow side of green. The plants grown years ago had very dark green foliage. So I'm wondering what I have this time. So far, the foliage has taken the winter well and shows no sign of distress. This plant was planted into the soil which forms the floor of the cold frame. And here's something else again: while tidying up the garden last week, I was struck by the really handsome effect the foliage of Sternbergia lutea makes at this time of year. There is a planting of this species in the garden here about thirty feet long, and the foliage is very attractive, one of the handsomest things in the garden now. Several of the western North American frits now have foliage rosettes up above ground. This year I have them in a cold frame out in the garden - this frame is not at all protected, and these frits seem later this year than they were last year when they grew in the protected cold frame. In fact, at this time last year, a half-dozen of the frits growing in the protected frame had flower buds above ground. This year things are going much more sensibly. Gelasine elongate (received as azurea), Calydorea xiphioides, Watsonia humilis, Freesia viridis and - this is a big surprise to me - Zephyranthes grandiflora have all kept good foliage all winter so far in the protected frame. Talk about microclimate... Out in the open garden, a 40+ year old planting of Iris reticulata has foliage up. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/