I think those of you who are contemplating keeping Scilla peruviana in the garden in areas where winters have long periods of sub-freezing temperatures are setting yourselves up for disappointment. This plant produces foliage in the late autumn, foliage which, although it will withstand light freezes, will not ordinarily survive prolonged below freezing temperatures. Dry bulbs deeply planted in the late autumn will not have time to produce above ground foliage and might survive and even bloom. Plants such as Boyce's near a heated wall (or in the rain shadow of the roof overhang) might pull through mild winters once or twice. But once the plants become established in the garden they will revert to their usual growth pattern and attempt to put up leaves in the autumn. If these leaves are killed, the bulbs might still survive in a weakened state; if this happens year after year they soon disappear. In my zone 7 garden even plants in very protected sites die if they are exposed to the air. Plants in a protected cold frame grow and thrive lustily. The comments above are based on my experiences here in my home garden; they do not take into account the possibility that hardiness might vary in this species. I'm not betting on long term survival in zone 5. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/