Exactly 2 years ago I obtained seeds of these species. I. cristulata came by way of a gift from a friend who bought them on eBay. And the I. pandurata I collected locally in the wild. The I. pandurata seeds stayed in my freezer for the last 2 years, kept in a paper bag (a Chipotle nacho chip bag). The I. cristulata seeds stayed on a north facing windowsill for the past 2 years, wrapped in the original tinfoil in which I received them. On February 28, just 10 days ago, I took all 55 seeds of I. pandurata, and 11 seeds from the packet of I. cristulata. I scarified them with a metal file, and placed them in glasses warm water. They soaked for 24 hours, and then I planted them into pots. 7 of the I. cristulata germinated on March 4. Another one germinated on March 5. I had given up hope for the I. pandurata, but today the first one is germinating... just the tiniest portion is breaking through the soil surface at this moment. I am so excited! It's amazing how these seeds remained viable for 2 years in spite of being kept under totally different conditions. My first attempt at collecting seeds of I. pandurata was a failure. I had kept them in warm dry storage. Beetles hatched from within the seeds and ate them from within. When I opened the bag a few weeks later I had a bag full of happy mature beetles. That's when I decided that the freezing and 24 hour soaking method might be necessary for success with these guys. I didn't expect it would take me 2 more years to try it. Preliminary results look promising! Ultimately I want to try crossing these two species to see if I can get a cold-hardy perennial plant with red & orange flowers. But first I need to these specimens in my garden. Dennis in Cincinnati (where it reached 67 degrees today! Summer is here?!)