Regarding the commercially available fritillarias, I received bulbs of a decidedly inferior form of F. persica as 'Adiyaman' some years ago from a Dutch bulb importer. However, it is an excellent garden plant, increasing into clumps and blooming no matter what the weather. I do have seedlings of the true 'Adiyaman' in my bulb frames; their flowers are 3 times the size of the poor form. As for F. imperialis, having observed the performance of purchased Dutch-grown bulbs here (where the climate is more suitable for them than Jim McKenney's mid-Atlantic climate), I suspect that most of the commercial stocks are afflicted with virus. The plants emerge distorted and do not persist in the garden. I've recently bought what appear to be healthy plants from Janis Ruksans, and I also flowered a seedling this year (after 6 years from sowing). Seed rarely seems viable in this species. I wish some wild-collected seed would become available, but since this is an Iranian plant, politics would seem to preclude that. I'd be interested to correspond with anyone who has a long-established healthy colony of F. imperialis (any form), with an eye toward exchanging bulbs. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon,USA \