Jane wrote: Fritillaria meleagris, in the USA, is best purchased as a potted plant in growth, since the bare bulbs offered in garden centers have usually been stored too long and are likely to be dead. I'm old enough to remember the bad old days when the local garden centers were a source of a wide array of bulb mummies with very alluring names (Narcissus cyclamineus, N. asturiensis, Fritillaria meleagris, snowdrops of any sort, Erythronium and others). And I still feel that garden centers are not likely to be a good source for healthy bulbs of Fritillaria meleagris and other non-tunicated soft bulbs. But some mail order bulb suppliers such as Odyssey Bulbs and Scheepers know what they are doing and supply plump, viable bulbs. Some years I've ordered singles, a dozen, some years a hundred, and every bulb grew and flowered. And count yourself very lucky if you live in an area where potted bulbs are available: I've never seen such a thing.Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7 (zone 6 tomorrow morning) _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/