Things are happening quickly on the Fritillaria front in one of the unprotected cold frames. I can now count flower buds on two frits: F. raddeana (this will be the fourth time it has bloomed here) and F. orientalis. The Fritillaria raddeana is about an inch and a half out of the ground. As in the past, as soon as the sprout emerges, the tuft of foliage opens up to expose the nest of flower buds. Fritillaria bucharica is about three inches out of the ground, but it is not yet showing flower buds. Another early riser, F. stenanthera, has yet to emerge. An investigative finger found a nice fat sprout on the way up. I have some doubts about the Fritillaria oreintalis - I'm not sure that's really what it is. We'll soon see. In the same frame, reticulate irises are just starting to open and various early crocuses are in full bloom. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7m where we have a crow in the neighborhood which imitates the barking of dogs. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/