Greg, search the archives, there was a productive thread on Symplocarpus cultivation about two years ago – maybe sometime around late February or March 2007. When you say “they” rotted, what are “they”? Do you mean that the ungerminated seed rotted or do you mean that the seed germinated and the seedlings rotted? Symplocarpus in my experience is best grown from fresh seed. Seed ripens here in mid-autumn. By November the old plants are often surrounded by the big seeds on the ground unless there has been strong water flow through the site. The seeds begin to germinate right away. Harry Phillips in his Growing And Propagating Wildflowers (my idea of an excellent gardening book) reports that the seed does not respond to usual storage methods. Phillips reported that if dried, the seed coat dehydrated and the embryos shriveled; if stratified, the seed broke down into a watery mass. I don’t know if anyone has come up with a way of storing the seed successfully. I have a vague recollection that there was something in the old thread which either contradicted that or had a better solution, but I don’t remember more. If your import regulations allow you to import moist, germinated seed, contact me in October to remind me and I’ll try to collect some fresh seed for you. It’s a cool plant. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/