For people living in California, the University of California provides chilling accumulation models with data for many locations throughout California: http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/Weather_Services/… This information is provided for fruit and nut growers but is very useful for growers of other species requiring vernalization and/or stratification. Other universities likely provide similar information. This data is mostly limited by the number of locations. The amount of winter chilling varies greatly in the Bay Area between years and especially by location. For example, If you look at the data for the "Oakland Foothills" which is the closest station in Alameda County most similar to the University of California Botanical Garden, there have only been about 450 to 900 cumulative chilling hours per year since 2004. However, if you live 30 miles away in Pleasanton (further inland), there have been about 800 to 1200 cumulative chilling hours per year since 2004. With such huge annual chilling differences, successful flowering of many species requiring "more" vernalization will undoubtedly vary significantly from year to year in marginally cold locations like Berkeley. From a cumulative chilling perspective, this past winter has been one of the coldest in the Bay Area in years. So far, I have seen this reflected in both earlier, more uniform flowering times for bulbs that generally require more vernalization (Tulips) and outstanding germination rates for species (Calochortus, Fritillaria) planted late. Nathan At 08:11 AM 4/11/2013, you wrote: >Being from St. Louis, I'm not sure that a species that grows in Missouri >would have a chance in the Bay Area if cold is required. > >Paul Licht, Director >University of California Botanical Garden >200 Centennial Drive >Berkeley, CA 94720 >http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/