I grow Tecophilaea cyanocrocus most years from seeds harvested from my mature plants. I use my normal seed mix, which is equal parts sharp sand, screened peat, and ground pumice. I used to put granite grit on top but when I ran out of it a couple of years ago, I tried pumice and found it works just as well, though it can develop algae after a year or two. I don't sterilize the seed soil because I feel that as soon as it gets into the natural environment (i.e., as soon as it's watered and placed on my deck or in the solarium), it is no longer sterile anyway. I don't reuse the soil for other seeds, though, I mix it fresh each fall. I would note about Tecophilaea that it germinates in winter, but the seedlings tend to stretch out when kept under glass, as they have to be here. Nonetheless, almost all produce bulbs that can be identified and potted on the first year, after which I put them in the bulb frame, where the higher light level and, perhaps, the colder winter, keep them compact and in a normal growing cycle. I've raised hundreds of them this way. I don't hand-pollinate the flowers, but there are so many different pollinators here in spring that almost every flower sets seed. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA