On 18 Mar 04 at 7:24, Mary Sue Ittner wrote: > Some of the Cyclamen seeds I sowed from my latest NARGS seeds have > formed the little bulbs and are trying to send up a shoot, but > cannot break through the hard seed coat even though I soaked them a > day before planting them. I've been dabbing water on them, but am > afraid to damage the shoot by helping it along as I sometimes do > with seed coats that are partially off. Does anyone have any > suggestions? I haven't ever seen this discussed, but it must happen > to others who sow a lot of seed. I know it has happened to me with a > number of different things (but not usually bulb seed.) Just leave them alone and they'll sort themselves out. You might want to topdress the pot(s) with a thin layer of coarse sand. BTW, give C. pseudibericum a try in a dryish location under conifers. Fantastic flowers at this time of year. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada "To co-work is human, to cow-ork, bovine."