You’re right, Mike, about not giving up. I have had this sort of successful germination with cyrtanthus, hippeastrum, and zephyranthes seeds that have been in storage - not always cold, but always dry - for a year or more. And I have a strong suspicion that the flotation method makes a difference. I think that the “sterile” environment and quick germination that occurs with flotation helps ward off opportunistic molds, etc. Perhaps the chlorine used in water treatment helps too. Dell From: michaelcmace@gmail.com Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 1:52 PM To: Rick Buell via pbs Dell raises a really good point: Don't give up. My record so far for accidental seed storage was some seeds of Moraea speciosa, which sprouted after about a decade in a drawer inside my house. it's a desert species, so perhaps not really a surprise. The weirdest incident was some tubers (not seeds) of Ferraria crispa which were accidentally stored in my garage for at least five years. No soil, just sitting in a pot where I had tossed the surplus and then forgot them. The garage was probably about 60F in winter and 90F in summer. When I found the tubers they were very wrinkled and I figured they were probably dead, but I tried a few in a pot and sure enough, they grew just fine. For you new growers, note that this is NOT the normal result of long-term storage. If you make enough mistakes, you just occasionally run into an exceptionally tough plant. Mike San Jose, CA _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/