I agree,Iain. And I'd go even further and state that instead of Celsius or Centigrade--those temperatures could go to the same numbers on the Fahrenheit scale, and they'd germinate just as well. ----- Original Message ----- From: <info@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 3:16 PM Subject: [pbs] Iris magnifica >A bit late in responding to this one due to flat out, metaphorically and in >any other way in the nursery, > I am getting too old for some of these antics. > > We grow this Iris taxon here from wild collected seed and it is absolutely > rock hardy as one might expect from where it originates in the Central > Asian countries of the former USSR. Here I sow the seed of this and > related, genetic or geographic taxa either as soon as it arrives by post > or as soon as the pods are ripe. The seed is sown into 3 litre plastic > pots using any old seed compost and course builder's sand 50:50. The > contents are then covered with a fine course gravel and stood outside to > meet the full effects of the winter where temps go down to - 20 C but more > often between - 5 C to - 10 C for weeks and months, snow is pile on top of > the post when available otherwise well watered in, nil shelter. These Iris > require severe cold treatment to vernalise,