Snowdrops are blooming in profusion here in western Oregon. To name favorites is like trying to choose a favorite child --impossible! The snowdrop webpages are wonderful. A trip to the UK in February ranks very high on my list. I am curious to know what causes some of my very large population of G. elwesii to have four outer petals. On 2 Feb 2004 at 10:23, Kathy Stokmanis wrote: > The BX offering I received is Galanthus elwesii. I would be more worried about > Galanthus not getting enough winter chill rather than it being too cold. I > live in the very beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills in Northern California, > Sunset zone 7. But the town rises over 1000 feet in elevation and I'm in the > so-called Banana Belt, where citrus can be grown. Over my three years of > observation, the temperature has not dropped below 25 degrees F so I think it's > zone 8 or even 9 in protected spots. G.elwesii will do just fine in your climate, especially if they have good shade in summer. Pine needles aren't an insurmountable problem either, even if you skip raking now and then. The only caution with erratic cleanup is that deep duff can become a hiding-place for slugs. Newer slug-baits such as "Sluggo" are a real boon though. The stuff even protects asarums that I previously had severe problems with. About moss in pots.... Here are a couple of ~partial solutions to the problem that are non-chemical. Use a top-dressing of poultry grit or coarse sand when sowing seed. Moss is the biggest problem on trilliums, erythronium, nomocharis, and anything else that is kept in pots for several years, especially since these are kept out of the sun. I found that I can carefully peel a layer of moss off the top in late autumn, when tiny bulbs are dormant and have pulled themselves down deep enough not to be disturbed. I then add a fresh layer of sterile worm-castings or good soil, and pumice or more grit. A bit of snowdrop humor: About fifteen years ago, our college-age daughter ran into the house very excitedly to tell me that she had found "a bunch of yellow- flowered snowdrops". I got very excited when she showed them to me, then caught the little smirk on her face: she had picked some, dyed the flowers, and artfully stuck them back in a neat cluster. We all had a good laugh! Cheers, Louise Willamette Valley in green, green Oregon *****************