It looks very "pretty", Donna. I hope it will bloom true for you.

Xuan

I've told my self 3 times already I was done, darn the local nurseries for putting things on clearance! I brought home Pamela, Baby Star, and Limona today. Hopefully they turn out to be correct.............
Mike

Mike, At least the good thing about buying end of season clearance bulbs at a nursery is that you get to inspect them!! When buying online end of season..your chances of getting a damaged or rotting bulb is much higher and then your basically stuck..!

Last bulb? Amaryllis bulbs are like chips. You can't stop at one!

It's a beautiful bulb! This is the first I've heard of peeling though. What does peeling do and how do you do it?

Some us regularly peel the outer brown layer off a bulb just to thoroughly inspect what lies underneath..Not a must, kind of useful though in many instances. Occasionally you might find some rot underneath and it gives you a better view of the over-all health of the bulb. Some bulbs like this one have the brown skin so tightly affixed to the bulb that you can't get it off without damaging the bulb. A bulb like the one above you can feel with your fingers is there is a soft spot underneath..I do it mostly out of habit but it should be done with bulbs that you have brought in from the outside as insects can hide as well as rot. As the bulb shrinks a bit the outer skin becomes loose and removes very easily.I only do this once when first potting up a bulb as the bulbs grows on the brown layer help to protect it from the sun. Don't do it if you don't want to, actually, I think only a few of us on the forum peel their bulbs! I don't know, maybe I'm the only one....??
This one below I peeled mostly out of habit, there was nothing amiss nor did I expect there to be..and as you can see my peeling fetish on the bulbs in the rear of the picture also ;-)

Donna

{{gwi:376828}}

Whoa! You really do get into the habit of peeling! It is pretty neat to see them all white and shiny. I'm worried I'll cause damage so I'll just end up peeking and not forcing it or something. hehe.

Donna, you are definitely NOT the only bulb peeler. I regularly clean mine up to make sure what is underneath. I have had new bulbs arrive that looked fine at first but when peeled down were found ot be in dire condition with rot setting in around the lower part of the bulb well hidden under layers of papery brown. It just wouldn't feel Right to plant them now without checking them out, just like we always have to unwrap a new baby and make sure it is all there!

Dragonstone..Just because we might peel them in the beginning doesn't ensure that they won't rot at a later date..it's just a habit I've acquired and you know how hard it is to break a habit..so if you're happy not peeling..carry on..maybe one out 10 bulbs will have an issue that peeling has allowed me to find so I can either captan the spot or scoop it out and captan it...Oh, and one more thing..occasionally you can find a greenish gray mold underneath and when exposed, you can just wipe it off with a dry paper towel! Good to know I'm not the only peeler out there!!

Donna

Hi Donna,

I gently and carefully peel almost every bulb that arrives at my house. You would be amazed at the amount of serious hidden damage and disease I have found in bulbs, which appeared perfectly healthy following touch testing and external inspection.

This season, I have discovered rot on more than a dozen new bulbs. Sadly some of the rot extended deeply into the basal plate. Just think what would happen if the bulbs were planted without thorough inspection. The bulb owner might blame their cultural practices for the demise of the bulb instead of realizing that the bulb was aleady rotting prior to planting.

Like lizalily, I routinely do a general clean once or twice per year. For me, this is an important component of providing the hygienic conditions that are essential to maintaining the health of my bulbs and preventing disease. If I find spots that look nasty or suspicious, they get treated. So, you are definitely not alone...

Cyber hugs,

Blanca

Well, Here is my Lima..(the bulb at the top of the thread) this is the second scape with 4 flowers the first had only 3..I'm very happy with this cybister..Happy Valentine's Day everyone...

{{gwi:376831}}

Wow! Definitely flowered at the right time! Beautiful flowers.

Donna very good performance! I love Lima! Next week i bring a bulb of Lima to Lima :-) (Parents of my girl love Amaryllis too)
Bytheway i threaten my bulbs when received with a solution of Captan and the dry skins moisture and are removable very easy.
Best regards
Frank

Very nice blooms and picture, Donna, thanks for sharing it! I loved the discussion on peeling too, great stuff.

Happy gardening all!
Grant

I love the one petal that reminds me of the Dating Game at the end when they'd blow a BIG KISS.
Okay, I'm dating myself lol.

Just thought I'd add to this thread seeing my picture of Lima. Well my big beautiful Lima rotted on me..so I ordered another this season from ETGBs and they sent me the one I ordered and another by mistake instead of La Paz (which they subsequently replaced) so, now I have two to look forward to. So that's two Limas I lost even if the first one was a goner from the get-go..should be blooming in a few weeks! I seem to have some trouble getting certain cybisters to sprout leaves..I must be keeping them too moist before they sprout...not the end of the world as long as you can replace them...luckily my NO 0016 sprouted readily since there would be no replacement for that one!!

Donna

I can't kill my Limas! I just noted when moving pots that my "cluster" is busting out the sides of the pot!

K

Hi Donna,

Ha...who you kiddin' last one??? I said that centuries ago too and I probably keep sayin' it till I croak. LOL!!!! I just adopted your peeling methood and the shmootz you underneath is amazing. I'm gonna keep doing this with all by "dry" bulbs.

Good Growing and Warm Regards,
Fred

Fred... I was teasing Donna earlier tonight about her peeling! Seems like several of us on this list are compulsive peelers! I learned from the best (Blanca!). It's funny...I tease Blanca about her peeling bulbs because when a mystery box arrives at my doorstep I know I can be assured that those bulbs will be clean as a whistle!

When I got my big bulb order today I planted a few and had to peel them down. You can be sure I discovered all sorts of miraculous stuff under that outside layer!! My bulbs looked really good...nice and dry, BUT when that outer layer came off I found some wet tissue that no doubt if left as it was would have resulted in that bulb rotting. So in the end the bulbs ended up a little bit smaller but a lot healthier!

Welcome to CBP (compulsive bulb peelers) Anonymous!! It's really kind of addictive and fulfilling isn't it??!!
K

Hi All,

I guess I'm a peeler from long ago. When I was younger, I did it cuz' I was nosey as all get out and wanted to see what was underneath!!! Who knew it was actually a good thing? I agree totally that it's a fulfilling thing, both for us with CBP and the bulb!!!

Warm Regards,
Fred

Donna, forgive me if I sound ridiculous, but I'm very serious to know...how do you rot a bulb? By over-watering? over-fertilizing? under-watering?...or what?

I do wish to learn to take care of my precious bulbs from overseas.

Many thanks for your reply.

Xuan

Hi Xuan,

I have found that rotting is most easily achieved if the bulb is over watered many times..(a few times shouldn't hurt) and/or planted too deep in soil that is kept too wet.

Sometimes there may be a layer underneath the upper most visible layer that has some rot underneath that isn't easily detected.

So don't worry about your bulbs, if you let them dry out between waterings and they aren't planted too deeply you should be fine.
Eventually most all of us loose some bulbs to rot but I understand where these bulbs are so hard to come by for you that you would worry more...

I hope you've got a few seedlings growing from the seeds I sent you...hope you're having good luck with them!

Donna

Xuan, I'd like to add that the new bulbs with no roots are the ones that rot the easiest. No root and no leaves to absorb the moisture is a recipe for rot. I know it's tempting when a leafless and rootless bulb has shot up scapes and is blooming we think it must need water!! If you do, only a smidgen...

Well established bulbs with leaves and roots are hard to kill, but if course it can be done!!

Donna