Mary Sue wrote > And seed can be >kept until the right time to plant. Most of us do that already. Seed >exchanges (besides our BX) often deliver seed at the wrong time. When I get seeds from the Southern Hemisphere, it has always been of species that experience a dry summer -- I don't grow subtropicals from wet-summer areas as I don't have a heated greenhouse. Germination seems to be best if I keep the seeds dry at room temperature (the humidity is low here in summer) and plant them in September or October just as I do with Mediterranean-climate plants from the Northern Hemisphere. Then everything is on the same schedule once the plants are growing. Incidentally, one such species that is in flower now in the rock garden is Alstroemeria revoluta, a small but rapidly spreading one. It has stiffly upright stems about 20 cm tall, bearing numerous cool pink flowers with reflexed tepals. It's still contained (I think), so when it goes dormant in a month or so I'll move it to another area where it can spread to its heart's content without endangering smaller plants. It will be living with some Juno and Regelia irises, which are dormant by the time the alstroemerias make much growth and which keep their root systems higher up in the soil; I've found this combination suits both genera. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA