I have grown commercially produced Freesias and Ixias, planted in Spring, which flowerd in subsequent years. I believe that corms produce their flower buds from the shoots, and not from inside the corm, unlike true bulbs which produce the embryonic flower from the basal plate while the bulb is 'dormant'. (I am not sure how Colchicums fit into this and would be glad to be enlightened. I know some people are uneasy with them being corms.) Peter (UK) On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 8:17 PM, Alberto Castillo <ezeizabotgard@hotmail.com > wrote: > They artificially ripen them so they produce uniform flowering . > > Something similar is when they give Ixias, Sparaxis, Babianas and > Tritonias a period of mild "winter" so they can be planted in SPRING to > flower in late spring/summer but then they are uselss for a future season. > > > >