Russell wrote, >Maybe Crocus goulimyi is one of those plants that doesn't like mild >damp winters. Here in zone 6a it winters outside (and flowers >reliably) in Anderson flats in a peat-rich soil mix. I'm sure it >would be even happier in a grittier mix. On the contrary, Crocus goulimyi is native to the Peloponnese, where winters are mild and damp. It usually is seen in very rocky, poor, limestone soils. Possibly Russell's plants have snow cover during cold periods, or the flats protect them from burrowing rodents. It does well in the bulbs frames for me, but voles may have destroyed it in the garden. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon