Dear Andrew I always knew that Lapeirousia seeds needed to be aged for a year, but I did not realise that almost all our bulb seed needed it. We harvest all our seed of SW Cape bulbous species in the months of September - December. This means that if you purchase them and sow them in your autumn, they are at most a month old. And obviously this is too fresh. In nature the seeds do lie in the heat for about 6 months before the cool weather of our autumn sets in, and then I do think that a cold minimum temperature is important. But obviously one needs heat first followed by cold. The reason I think that, is we sow all our seeds in March or April, and many of them only germinate in July when it is cold enough. I am extremely interested in your results, and pleased that the seeds finally germinated. Regards Rachel Saunders Silverhill Seeds and Books Tel: +27 21 762 4245 Fax: +27 21 797 6609 PO Box 53108, Kenilworth 7745 South Africa