Dear Rachel, That is what appears to be the case for all except Watsonias. The species of them selected were from winter-growing areas. So, I suspect their seeds would have been collected at the same unless perhaps, that batch had been a year older. By the way, in the list of genera, Babiana also took a year's vacation. Unlike bulbs, other plants such as mesembs germinated right away. Seeds from elsewhere (northern Europe) also germinated right away. The other corollary from this lesson is that just how seeds are stored in the waiting period is less critical than I had believed. It seems hard to credit but humidity or high temperatures for extended periods don't have an effect on the viability retention. I guess I had better start ordering now! Andrew