Regarding Mary Sue's difficulty with Corydalis seed When I was processing the intake of the NARGS Seed Exchange a few years ago, a Corydalis fancier sent in his seeds packed in cotton in little boxes (like the kind earrings come in) and wrote that Corydalis seed is very easily crushed in the mail, being fragile. Naturally, once the seeds get to the exchange, they are handled just like everything else, despite the care of the donor! I also believe it germinates best if fresh, but I have raised some species from exchange or purchased seed, including a couple of the good dwarf ones. Possibly I am having better luck with my Calochortus collection because it is colder here, and they are inhibited from growth above ground during the wettest months. I get lots of seed from most of the species I grow and am building up a stock of seedlings to distribute when they get a little more size on them. Mark Mazer reported difficulty with Eremurus seeds. These typically germinate after TWO periods of cold chilling; that is, they go through two winters and appear above ground (I don't know if they are hypogeal like many Liliaceae and form a radicle below ground the first winter) the second spring after planting. Josef Halda once told me that the seed pots should be dried off during the first summer, but I don't know if this is really necessary. I have grown only wild-collected seeds of Eremurus, and the germination percentage is not high. The rhizomes take about 5 years to reach flowering size. In that connection, I would be interested to know if forum members prefer to buy only flowering-size bulbs, or if they are also interested in smaller bulbs at a lower price. Last summer I offered some small Fritillaria bulbs at 5 for a dollar or some such price, and people ordered them. It is easy to grow a lot of bulbs to the two- or three-year-old stage, but beyond that I don't have room. I know that some people are planting these bulbs directly in the garden or potting them up for plant shows or public displays, and they want immediate results. What is the general opinion on this question? Jane McGary Northwest Oregon