Arnold wrote,.00 > >The Crocus speciosus flops over and rain totally destroys them. Like many other Crocus species, and indeed like many bulbs, C. speciosus grows naturally in turf, so it has the support of grasses and other plants around it when in flower. My old garden (still for sale!!) has a nice group of it that comes up through the prostrate gray-leaved heather 'Sister Anne'. I think that crocuses naturally flop over, rain or no rain, once they've been pollinated and no longer need to hold up their flowers to attract bees. They have no stem above ground (only a floral tube); the seeds generally develop below the soil surface and in some species pop up on a short stem once ripe. Crocus speciosus is indeed a wonderful, widely adapted plant, but it's hard to acquire because of its fall-blooming habit, which means it doesn't ship along with all the other Dutch-grown bulbs. There are several named varieties, such as 'Conquest', 'Oxonian', and 'Cassiope', and one I have from Janis Ruksans is called 'Lakeside Beauty'. Among American suppliers, they can sometimes be had from McClure and Zimmerman. Mine, at the moment, are flowering in a pot, and I'm waiting for the irrigation installer to finish his trenching next week so I can know where I can plant almost anything. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA