Jim asked: >I am trying to start Fritillaria atropurpura and F. recurva from >seed. The seed has been placed in zip lock bags with damp >vermiculite and perlite in the refrigerator. The F. atropurpura have >sent out shoots. At first I thought they were roots but they seem to >look like stems. When do I pot them up? Is this first growth roots >or stems? The F. recurva has not done anything yet, about 60 days in >the refrigerator. Any advice? Sunset zone 9. I never grow Fritillaria seeds by this method, but I grow a lot of species in the genus. Fritillaria is an epigeal germinator. The first structure that emerges in germination is the cotyledon (seed leaf), with the seed coat on its tip, and the radicle (first root) extends downward to anchor the cotyledon; the bulb forms a bit later in the first season. The method Jim describes is often recommended for certain species of Lilium, a genus that includes both epigeal and hypogeal species. In a hypogeal germinator, a root does emerge from the seed before a cotyledon does, in some plants an entire growing season intervening between the two structures' appearance. The refrigerated bag method allows a grower to speed up the sequence of bulb and leaf development by manipulating the time periods of refrigeration. It may be possible for Jim to save his plants by placing them VERY CAREFULLY with the lowest part of the cotyledon (the end opposite the end with the seed coat on it) buried in some delicate medium such as peat and fine sand. Introduce them to light VERY GRADUALLY. If the Fritillaria recurva has not germinated yet, remove it from the bag and plant it in a pot with a very small amount of soil mix and some fine gravel topdressing, and put it where it will receive light. Some people recommend planting Fritillaria seed on its side "to prevent rotting" but I have never done this and have quite a lot of good results; however, I don't keep these seed pots in a heated place. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA