Ina in New Zealand asked if Cyclamen hederifolium is "the in-between-sized cyclamen," and I think she is referring to it being intermediate in size between C. persicum (which would be an outdoor plant in her area, though not in much of Europe or North America) and C. coum, another one that will naturalize in gardens. I was surprised to read that Jim Shields can't grow C. hederifolium outdoors, because people in even colder parts of North America do, such as in upstate New York. Perhaps drainage is the problem? Jim, do you grow C. purpurascens outdoors? It has been very successful in some Midwest gardens, though I can't make it happy in Oregon. C. hederifolium has been in full bloom here for a couple of weeks, and just as it started up, I went around and lifted and potted a lot of the white forms to be sure I have a good supply of them to take to my new garden next summer. Here in western Oregon this species naturalizes very readily, as it has for Ina, and even pops up in lawns. I haven't seen it out in natural areas, though; the seeds are distributed by ants and are rather heavy and sticky, so it doesn't get too far. You can always tell a house where a serious gardener has ever lived around here, by the presence of this species, which will persist forever. Another species growable outdoors in moderate climates and flowering in fall is C. mirabile, which is smaller but also has pretty leaves, especially when they first emerge and the light markings are flushed pink. Colchicum are starting to flower here: the early C. bivonae selections and hybrids, the garden plant known as C. "byzantinum album," C. x agrippinum, and an assortment of little species in the bulb frames, including those formerly known as Merendera. Every year I get to make the acquaintance of new species as seedlings finally flower; the seeds can take up to 5 years to germinate, and then 4 or 5 years to flower. A first bloom right now is C. sfikasianum from Greece, and I was interested to see that it appears to be identical to an unidentified plant given me a couple of years ago by Roger MacFarlane, who had collected it in Greece; the two, in separate frames, opened their flowers within 2 days of each other. I find that the succession of flowering in Colchicum species is very consistent from year to year. It must be triggered by temperature. The crocuses haven't started yet, so the other interest in the frames is in the fall-flowering Scilla species, recently transferred to a genus Prospero, and in Acis (formerly Leucojum in part). Scilla, or Prospero, autumnalis, with lavender flowers, is the best-known of the former, a very easy plant to grow, flowering from seed in 2 years and ripening seed remarkably fast: I grew mine from seed I collected in Greece in roadside colonies that still had flowers too. Scilla intermedia and S. obtusifolia (I don't know if they are Prospero or whatever S. scilloides became) are very similar species, a little larger than S. autumnalis, with pink flowers. Besides Acis autumnalis, which naturalizes in this region, A. valentina is in bloom. This is larger than A. autumnalis and pure white (there is also a pure white form of A. autumnalis called 'September Snow', which seems prepared to seed itself true), and its flowers open more widely; it is quite beautiful. Soon there will be A. rosea, a tiny pink one, but it is tender and has to be kept in the solarium over winter. All these plants except Acis rosea have been winter-hardy with rain protection to about 20 degrees F / minus 6 degrees C, and do well with a dry summer dormancy. Indeed, the wild forms of Cyclamen persicum are too, and even the gaudy florist forms of it survive at my brother's place in the California Coast Range, where they get a few degrees of frost every winter. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA