Diane, Now there's dedication! For me, I usually give up after a few years, mix the soil into some containers to plant in. That's when they germinate. I have a container full of Iris that I am trying to remember which batch I tossed into it. When they flower, hopefully then I can identify them. Debbie ************************************************************************ Debbie TT Web page - Rainy Side Gardeners - rainyside.com Garden blog - Muck About - rainysidegardeners.typepad.com ************************************************************************ -------------------------------------------------- From: "Diane Whitehead" <voltaire@islandnet.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 2:09 PM To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Subject: [pbs] Colchicum germination > I received various Colchicum seeds from the Alpine Garden Society 1999 > exchange, and sowed them with a spoonful of soilless mix into small > ziplock bags as soon as they arrived, in February 2000. They have been > kept in an unheated greenhouse that never freezes, and never gets very > hot. > > C pusillum germinated in September 2002 - 2 years 7 months > > C. 'Lilac Wonder' and C. corsicum germinated in February 2004 - 4 years > > Today, 1 seed of C. autumnale MESE 302 (from an AGS expedition to > Greece in 1999) germinated - 8 years 1 month > There are still 12 seeds not yet germinated. > > The final species, bornmuelleri, has not germinated yet. Its 7 seeds > are still sound. > > When the autumnale finally blooms, it will probably look exactly like > the ones sold in bulb bins every fall. Ah well. It will have a story > to make it special. > > Diane Whitehead