Jim -- We plant our bulbs in the autumn so that they’ll grow roots through autumn and winter and be ready to jumpstart spring in February. I think they actually do their growth in autumn and stand pat during the winter. I recently repotted a bulb by mistake that I had repotted only a month before. I don’t know what the bulb is (that’s another story), but I was sure that this is its dormant season. Anyway, I took photographs both times, and the root growth during this month of ‘dormancy’ was tremendous. In fact, almost all my plants are showing great growth during these dog days of waning summer. I don't have an answer to your Fritillaria problem, but my feeling is that if your plants can tolerate your winters, plant them out now during active root growth so that they can dig down below frost level, still get some winter rest, and be ready for spring. David Ehrlich