Hi folks, It helps to get back somewhere near on topic occasionally! Weather is always topical for gardeners, even greenhouse growers. We have to worry about cooling our greenhouses in summer and trying to keep them warm enough in winter. I'm in Indiana, which is in the wetter part of the Midwest, between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. In Indiana, we are nominally in USDA cold zone 5. For several years, we did not fit that definition, being more like zone 6 (i.e., warmer). This winter, we have been right on target for zone 5: We had low temperatures down to -15°F (-26°C). That was with no or very little snow cover. A week ago, we had a snowfall that dropped 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of snow in our general area. That is the most in one snowstorm since around 1996. Our annual total snowfall runs from 20 to 30 inches most years. The season isn't over yet here, so we could get more this month. It is too early for us to see spring flowers outdoors, even if the ground were not covered in several inches of snow. Inside the greenhouses, we have a few things in bloom: Haemanthus pauculifolius in flower Lachenalias of several sorts blooming with more in bud Cyrthanthus cv., vigorous and floriferous plant with yellow tubular flowers Scadoxus puniceus starting to show flower buds Veltheimia bractreata in bud Tulbaghia simmleri still in flower Hippeastrum mandonii is blooming somewhat out of season A few Clivia miniata hybrids are showing buds in the very heart of the plants, but the Belgian hybrids (also miniata) have been blooming for at least a month now. A couple interspecific hybrids are in bloom already Cooling my greenhouses in summer is much cheaper than heating in winter but is just as big a concern here. My winter-growing bulbs need to be kept warm but dry in summer, and the only way I have managed that is by leaving them in the greenhouse. Over-heating can be just as fatal as freezing in winter. 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