I was surprised to read that Jim McKenney considers the color of Hyacinthoides lingulata ssp ciliolata to be dull gray-blue. The stock from which his plant is derived produces flowers of attractive clear light blue. I wonder if his plant is receiving too little sunlight (mine's in full sun), or if the acidity of the soil affects the color. Mine are in a fairly acidic soil, as is common in this region, and I rarely add lime to the mix in which I plant my bulbs. There is something about the soil here in the Cascade foothills that seems to deepen color in many flowers, particularly roses; the soil (volcanic in origin) is high in potassium and iron. I have another subspecies, ssp. lingulata, which flowers about 3 weeks earlier than ssp. ciliolata. The early-flowering one is more susceptible to defoliating in cold temperatures, but it comes back the next year. Both of them increase well vegetatively but I have never obtained ripe seed from them. Jim is probably correct in thinking it would not be a good open-garden plant, because the rather succulent foliage is easily damaged if it freezes when wet. It is, however, a very small plant and easily grown in a small container. It's a little disappointing that many species formerly placed in the genus Scilla have been transferred to Hyacinthoides, though when you look at the bulbs it's easy to see one morphological reason for doing so. The existence of Hyacinthoides campanulata (Spanish bluebell) and its horticultural hybrids with H. non-scripta turns many gardeners off the whole genus because Spanish bluebells are so invasive. Some people still know them as Scilla (they went through Endymion, too), and as a result will not plant any member of the genus Scilla -- just as experience with Muscari armeniacum or M. azureum keeps them from trying any of the better-behaved Muscari species. Scilla itself has also been split by Speta into about 14 genera, but I don't know how widely this view is being accepted. Incidentally, one still encounters some Hyacinthoides under the name Hyacinthus -- I obtained at least one such species from Monocot Nursery's seedlist in the early 1990s. The bulbs of Hyacinthoides and Hyacinthus are, however, quite distinct in appearance. The old Dutch stock of Crocus kotschyanus was sold under various names, unfortunately including C. karduchorum, which is the valid name of a rarely grown species, also lavender and fall-flowering but distinguished by a very finely divided pure white stigma. (I was able to distribute a few corms of C. karduchorum a couple of years ago, having raised it from seed originating with the Gothenburg Botanic Garden, and I hope they are being cherished.) If Jim's plants have deformed flowers, they are, as Rodger notes, infected with virus and should be discarded. This strain increases very fast vegetatively but doesn't flower much. There are, however, at least two free-flowering selections of C. kotschyanus available, one named 'Reliant' and another that I have only under the collectors' initials, JRJK. I have never seen symptoms of virus in the latter, and also they will self-sow a little, the seeds being transported by ants into grassy areas typical of crocus habitat in nature. The best naturalizing fall crocuses here are C. speciosus, which is good in northern gardens too, being of alpine origin, and C. pulchellus. Both the former can be obtained in several named forms. Also doing well in the garden are C. nudiflorus and C. serotinus. C. cartwrightianus is another possibility for the open garden in moderate climates. If I lived in California, I'd use C. goulimyi, C. niveus, and C. boryi extensively. Like spring crocuses, these fall-flowering ones are safest planted in the lawn or in crevices in the rock garden, where voles and other rodents are least likely to get at them. If you have a retentive soil, C. banaticus can be a real success, but my soil here dried out too much in summer. Later in the fall there is C. ochroleucus, surprisingly cold-hardy, and it somehow avoids the voles where little else does; it is, however, a little crocus and doesn't open up in the typically bad weather of early December. Growing under cover here and in flower now are the various subspecies of C. cancellatus, which can be very beautifully marked; C. mathewii with its deep violet throat; C. pallasii and C. asumaniae, similar but the latter is more beautiful; the large C. niveus, in white and pale blue; and several kinds of C. serotinus. C. moabiticus continues to struggle along but I think I've lost C. hermoneus at last, after 16 years. There are a couple of the fall-flowering subspecies of C. biflorus, such as C. b. melantherus, but mice got C. b. pseudonubigenus a couple of years ago, and I would very much appreciate knowing of anyone who still has it. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA