From what I read I think that there is too much refrigeration of winter growing bulbs in some parts of the world. As I understand it refigeration will create a bigger display of flowers at the expense of growth, and therefore weaken the plant for the following year. I would suggest that bulbs recieved in advance of autumnal temperature fluctuations would be better planted in dry compost and kept shaded, or else stored in a cellar or other cool space. I grew Fritilaria imperialis, when I was a child, in neutral loam, In the west of Scotland. It only grew well and flowerd when I took my fathers advice and put lime around it. Peter (UK) On Thu, Sep 13, 2012 at 8:17 PM, Jim McKenney <jamesamckenney@verizon.net>wrote: > > Good luck getting bulbs from an American dealer in August. But even if I > could get them in August, I would put them in the refrigerator and not > plant them until the soil cooled down. > > Mail order bulbs here typically arrive in late October and almost always > give a knock out performance the first year. And they almost always > disappear after that. > >