This topic of the best depth of planting for Crocus sativus has been discussed on this list in the past. And not only on this list: here's a link to an article in the 1978 Bulletin of the ARGS (Vol. 36 No. 2): https://nargs.org/sites/default/… The author of the article, William Hamilton Jr of Ithaca, New York, describes a flourishing planting of the saffron crocus; two relevant excerpts follow: "The corms were eight inches deep, well below the level at which they had been planted." The soil was described as "damp rich but well drained soil a few feet above the level of Cayuga Lake." So, Jim Waddick, why not "sacrifice" a few corms, plant them deeply and see what happens. I have this ARGS volume in my personal library (i.e. in paper), but when I Googled to find the last time we discussed it on this list (I mentioned it then) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the NARGS bulletins can now be accessed via Google. This is a wonderful resource, and one now accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where several Galanthus, two Iris unguicularis accessions, Narcissus "albidus foliosus", a rag tag assortment of late autumn crocuses and Cyclamen persicum (outside in a cold frame) are all blooming.