I have admired spring flowers in South Africa that kept unusual hours so I would need to plan my day to see some in the morning, others for a couple of hours midday, some in late afternoon or evening. And the individual flowers often did not just close until tomorrow when their time was up, but die. Our Northern Hemisphere winter flowers can last for a long time. They probably have to as pollinators are not as frequently available as they will be later in spring. This year I kept track of one of my snowdrops - a yellow one, Spindlestone Surprise opened its flowers about February 10, and the flowers have now finished - after 7 weeks. I don’t know whether this one is exceptionally long-lasting. Next year I will try to remember to pay attention to several others. Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada cool mediterranean climate warm dry summers, mild wet winters 70 cm rain, sandy soil _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…