So far as I know, no seeds need bottom heat. South African seeds, the dry ones that are dormant, need day-night temperature cycling. If you use bottom heat anyway, be sure to turn it off overnight. My South African greenhouse is warmer during the day than at night (at least when the sun shines), so I have not had much trouble getting dry South African seeds to germinate, so I may be underestimating the problems. Germinating the seeds is not usually the problem. I have had a very tough time growing Daubenya as bulbs, while Massonia, Lachenalia, and Polyxena are easy here. All my Daubenya have died, so far. These have evolved to survive climates that undergo severe dry seasons. Keep the seeds dry until you are ready to plant them. Start then in your autumn, if they are from winter-growing species. Start them in your spring if they are summer growing species. Good luck! Jim Shields in Westfield, Indiana USA where it is definitely winter. At 08:51 PM 1/2/2010 +0000, someone wrote: >Afternoon all... do massonia and daubenya seeds need bottom heat to >germinate? Thanks, Lisa SHIELDS GARDENS LTD. James E. Shields, president P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. +1-317-867-3344