Hi Gang, It was a warm fall, with temperatures often in the 80s (26-28 C); nights did not get cold till mid-December. Ten or fifteen nights dropped to 28 F or 30 F, not really a frost for plants in my garden. There were only 2 "real" frosts, the first was to about 25 F and was brief with temperatures rapidly rising above freezing-most of the Crinum ignored it. The second frost was about 23 F, and temperatures were cold for 5-8 hours, most of the Crinum defoliated except for C. bulbispermum, C. erubescens (under a tree), and C. x powelii. Today, February 21, I noticed a plant of C. bulbispermum putting up a bloom; the spike is about 18 inches tall (45-50 cm). Winter is not over formally, but cold temperatures are not predicted in the near future--typically if we can make it to the end of February there will be no more 25 F-type frosts. The C. bulbispermum that is blooming is no special beauty; it is a seedling that I purchased 2 1/2 years ago in Shorter, TX (just north of Houston, TX). The seller told me he digs them up from a drainage ditch where they have naturalized. The flowers are typical of the naturalized C. bulbispermum, not large, and not showy. But, surely they will be much appreciated if the blooms open by March 1. The very first daffodils only started opening in my yard 2-3 weeks ago. Of course the paperwhites have been blooming off and on since Christmas--depending upon type. Usually, by mid-March the earliest Hymenocallis liriosme start blooming in the wet areas nearby, last year I saw the first bloom by March 8. The large-flowered plants, the once that reach at least 8 inches across from spidery tip to spidery tip, don't open till very late March, or early April. These large-flowered H. liriosme bloom through May and one year I found a few flowers just after June 15. I wonder if the small-flowered H. liriosme plants that grow wild near my home, and which bloom earlier, are "different." It is easy to speculate that the large-flowered plants, that have larger leaves (50% longer), and which bloom later, are tetraploids. In contrast, I wonder if the local plants could represent diploid progenitors. But such musings are based on no facts--only wishful thinking. Hopefully this year will be another good year to gather Hymenocallis seed. I must have sent out 200 seeds or seedlings last year. It is nice to share this great Texas native. I grow it in a low area that is wet much of the winter, but I understand it blooms fine in a regular garden setting. Can anyone confirm H. liriosme will bloom in conditions such as you might provide for hybrid roses or delphiniums? Cordially, Conroe Joe