Jim Waddick wrote: >The bulb had moved down to at least 15 inches to the base of the bulb, perhaps more. >Does this species grow shallower in milder climates? Does this clone always pull >itself down in cold climates or does it stay shallower and thus be less hardy in >some other climate. Do different clones or other xpowelli behave differently? Does >Deep planting allow a more tender clone (i.e.Ellen Bousanquet) to survive colder >climates. Wish I knew. Hi Jim, I am sorry I can't really answer your question, but I can run this by my friends in Florida and see what they have to say. Even here in relatively mild Zone 7 I plant all of my Crinum as deeply as I can without burying the foliage. Others may disagree, but I have had good results with this treatment here. They have no problems thrusting their scapes through inches of heavy soil (they usually do this after a good rain so the soil is softer at this time). Some of my hardier Crinum, and those with americanum/erubescens and/or bulbispermum in their ancestry are in completely mucky soils year round and have no trouble with this over the winter. The more tender hybrids and species which want drier conditions while dormant I put in areas with south facing slopes and good drainage, planted deeply and mulched heavily for winter. I have not lost a Crinum yet, but I have become bolder with my successes and Tony Avent's encouragement and I may lose some this winter. Either way, success or failure, I will post the results here. If you ever get a backhoe and get those dutch powellii clones out to free up some garden space, I have some much higher quality plants that I think are as hardy as your powellii clone that I could send to you for hardiness testing. I completely understand your backhoe comment, I am young and fit and don't mind a good workout, but usually have to get myself psyched up to start digging big Crinums. Starting at sunrise is usually a good plan. Regards, Jay Yourch Central North Carolina, USA (USDA Zone 7)