Dear Sam, About a year ago we talked about adding when plants would be in growth so those people who were starting seeds from the BX would have a clue about the right time to start them. At first Dell included the key and it would probably be good for him to add it to his standard message. People who were donating seed were asked to tell Dell when it grows as he can't be expected to know about all of the things we all grow. Alberto has often kindly supplemented the information when lacking. If it is sp. seed that could be summer or winter growing, then only the donor knows. SEED: (W = winter-growing; S = summer growing; WE = winter-growing, evergreen) We discussed our favorite books last December. You can check out the posts in the archives. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/old.php/… I think what you buy depends on where you live and what you are interested in. We all have various favorites and books we use a lot. From your introduction I am sure you'd want to have Harold Koopowitz's Clivia book for a starter. If you stay on this list and get hooked on growing things from seed you will find that there are a lot of books that you will want to have. Mary Sue PBS List Administrator, Wiki Worker, TOW Coordinator (Whew!)