Jane, I have just read your comment again and understand it differently the second time. I assumed you meant that when seeds of a certain Colchicum species germinate, they all do. But now, I think you meant: as a result of some unknown environmental trigger, many different Colchicum species germinate, no matter how many years they've been buried in their seedpots. If the precipitating factors occur this year, then species A may germinate in only two years, but if the constellation of events don't occur for another ten years, then maybe species A might take 12 years to germinate this time, but not every time. Am I right in my second interpretation? Diane Whitehead Jane McGary wrote: > I've also found that during a given year, most germination > in this genus takes place almost simultaneously, no matter how many > years > old the seed pots are. Apparently there is some environmental > trigger that > affects many species similarly. >