Johb Grimshaw wrote from England, >I am particularly fond of Crocus pulchellus, with dainty pale blue >flowers enlivened by a golden ring in the centre. It is persistent >and vigorous here, growing well in thin turf under trees and is even >self-sowing quite well in my parents' lawn. The white form is lovely >and I particularly like of the almost grey - or mother-of-pearl >-clone 'Zephyr', though I think this is a hybrid with C. speciosus. >It gives white seedlings like C. pulchellus 'Albus' though. I also had the experience of C. pulchellus seeding into the lawn at my garden in the Cascade foothills of Oregon. Another very good clone is 'Inspiration', with larger than typical flowers. I wonder if it's also a C. speciosus hybrid? In that same garden, C. goulimyi barely survived the winter outdoors, never flowering after the first year, though very good in the bulb frame. Theoretically that is a Zone 7 area. I may try it outdoors here once I get the rock garden built. At present it's all in the raised beds in the new bulb house. I'm sure crocuses are more winter-hardy in turf, where they're insulated to some extent against frost and (at least in areas like this where grass grows in winter) the grass may use up some of the moisture. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA