Dear Joyce, If the stalk is brown and dry I think you could cut the pod and ripen it elsewhere. If it is as you have stated it will open soon. It is what I do. I usually leave my Calochortus pots in the shade during the summer and repot in fall, but don't water till it starts raining. (Except for C. nitidus which thanks to Mike Mace's advice of some water year round bloomed for me this past summer after I did that last year). It is maybe a matter of not getting to them right away as I deal with the South Africans first. I have also dumped them out and stored them in brown bags inside. Most people add some dry material like peat moss to keep them from drying out if they store them especially if they are little, but some of the bigger bulbs seem tough to me. Calochortus tolmiei which is native around here and always delights me during my spring hikes when I see it on the bluffs near the ocean, short in the grass, dwindles a bit for me so perhaps someone else has better advice. I keep trying with it since it is one of my favorites. I hope you are successful with it. Mary Sue