Malcolm Redwood in New Zealand asked, >Now I am wondering if I can pick your brains, on how to germinate Leontocheir ovallei seed? I did not realize Chilterns had this. Wonder how they got it? It is very strictly protected in the wild, except from the g-- d--- goats, which is why it's endangered in the first place. Anyway, it lives in very dry, rocky situations in the Coast Range of north central Chile; I saw it growing in vertical crevices in a canyon wall, where the goats and resident guanacos apparently had missed it. It should germinate pretty much like the coastal Alstroemeria species to which it is closely related; that is, in cool but frost-free conditions, almost as soon as the seeds become moist. However, if this is seed of the current season, and I had managed to get some, I would keep it at room temperature, dry, not planted, for 3 to 5 months before planting and watering it. I definitely would not subject it to any chipping, chemical treatments, freezing etc. -- just plant it in a good gritty soilless mix and give it a soaking in the early fall, and keep the seedlings away from frost and watch them carefully for aphids. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA