In the ongoing discussion of websites, Rodger wrote >Perhaps I should >add that the PBS mailing list is (imo) for enthusiasts with some experience, >not raw newbies who don't know which end of a bulb goes on the bottom. You can be puzzled by this even if you are not a "raw newbie [novice, newcomer]." When I was distributing bulbs I sometimes added a note on the paper packet about the planting orientation. This is especially true if you are growing bulbs from seed and potting on or planting out the small, young bulbs, corms, or tubers. The other day I had a number of one-year-old tubers of Arisaema candidissimum to plant in the garden. I noticed that the roots came from the upper half of the tuber and extended horizontally. I knew that the top of an aroid tuber, at least those I usually grow, has a little protuberance or "topknot" from which the above-ground parts of the plant will arise, but in these little seedlings it can be hard to spot. In another example, in the Liliorhiza section of Fritillaria (the western American species, basically) the orientation of the young bulbs is identified by a little "barb" or "hook" at the base, which is the beginning of the second scale. And Cyclamen tubers of difference species produce their roots from different parts of the storage organ, and need to be planted at various depths depending on whether or not they make a "neck." Certain Anemone tubers or rhizomes can be even more difficult to interpret, and I have sometimes given up and planted them sideways. It is likely, however, that even if a bulb is planted sideways or upside down, whether by a raw or an experienced gardener, it will figure things out for itself. Very small bulbs are more tolerant of this than large ones, so if you harvest a handful of tiny crocus cormlets or a mass of first-year Fritillaria bulbs (which look like little seed pearls), you can safely sprinkle them into a large pot without puzzling out which side is up, and they will grow just fine. Indeed, bulbous plants that produce masses of small offsets have probably evolved this as a response to scattering by bulb predators; a few of the tiny offsets are likely not to be found by the animal and will remain in the nicely disturbed soil to carry on. In the garden some of these heavily propagating species can turn into weeds thanks to the gardener's assiduous weeding and other soil disturbance. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA