Mark Brown wrote from France, >Dear Jane, all I can say is lucky you. I might try some in my new >desert bed here. No one in Europe thinks they are easy I am pretty sure. Mark, you don't need to put American fritillarias in a desert bed. Many of them grow where they get occasional rainfall and/or snow in the period October-April. In winter they may be growing, and flowering, in saturated clay soils (e.g., F. pluriflora), though some prefer well-drained rocky soils (e.g., F. purdyi). None should be dried out as severely as, say F. persica. Most are hardy to about minus 6 C at least, though they grow better if kept where the foliage is not wet during hard frost. Even the strictly coastal species are hardier than one would expect (e.g., F. liliacea) -- and this is true of Mediterranean Fritillaria species too, in my experience. In fact, I don't believe I have ever lost a fritillaria to winter cold, even those from Greek islands. One is probably more likely to kill them with excessive heat and drying, especially in pots that aren't plunged (buried to the rim). We are supposed to have some good weather for the next three days. The snow is almost entirely melted, the sky is getting light, and the morning fog has lifted. I wish I could spend the whole weekend in the garden but have a Monday editorial deadline; still, I should be able to carry a few buckets of gravel up to the incipient chaparral (garrigue) planting before the shoulders give out, and perhaps get started top-dressing the new tufa bed, which is waiting for the plants I've been raising and buying for it. Yes, it will have bulbs in it! Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA