Peter Taggart wrote. >The first Rhinopetalum I tried to grow was Fritillaria bucharica. An author >on a book about Fritillaria gave a talk at the local rock garden club, >where I asked his advice. Prior to that I had certainly kept such bulbs too >dry, not allowing that even dessert bulbs need moisture in order to grow. >His advice was "put it out in the rain .. yes it will take all the water it >can get at this time of year!" that was a wet October. The plant was in an >appropriate soil mix (not that he asked) and the bulb was dead in three >days. As far as I know there is only one "book about Fritillaria," by Kevin Pratt, and I warn new enthusiasts of the genus that there is a great deal of misinformation in it. Fortunately, I had been growing these bulbs for some years before the book appeared, so when I read it I knew what was wrong with it. Do not put your trust in it. Fritillaria bucharica is in fact the easiest species in the Rhinopetalum section to grow in gardens, but although it flourishes with a little overhead cover here, our wet Oregon fall-winter-spring is fatal to it even when I have planted it out in pure coarse sand and grit in a raised rock garden. The plants thus treated just dwindled away in about 3 years. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA