Here's how I did it...

I cut the bulbs into quarters, getting rid of as much rotten area as I could... I made sure to keep a portion of basal plate attached to each piece.

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I liberally dusted the pieces with Captan.

I pre-moistened plain vermiculite and put a few inches of it in each of two ziploc freezer bags.

I added the bulb pieces, making sure that the basal plate areas made good contact with the vermiculite.

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I placed each baggie on a plastic lid, and on a heat mat. The plastic lid acted as a buffer to keep the bulb pieces from overheating.

That was in March, I believe... by the beginning of June, new green little bulblets were beginning to grow inside the baggies.

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When the little bulblets began to grow leaves, I turned on the grow light suspended above the heat mat. I have the entire setup on a lower shelf.

When the leaves got a few inches long, I took the pieces out of the baggies and carefully potted them up.

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This is the medium I use.

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And this is the second baggie's results. Notice the Captan powder still visible on the bulb chunk that the tiny bulblets are growing on.

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I think the keys are anti-fungal powder, bottom heat, and not opening the baggie at any point until you're ready to remove the new babies and pot them. Keep everything as clean and sterile as possible.

I hope this helps you somewhat. I think you might actually be able to save more pieces than you think... let us know how it works out, and if you need help, we're right here! :-)

1a. Sixtyfive to eighty Fah seems to work best,but I have started twinscales outside in potting soil,in temperatures from 38 to the high nineties. The lower the temperature, the slower the growth,and possibly the fewer the bulblets.Also, the survival rate of the segment is reduced.
1b.I have the best luck with light. I suspect that darkness to begin with,until the first signs of bulbing,then sixteen to twenty four hours of artificial light(flourescent)would be optimal.
2. If you don't sterilize the bulb,then the segments,then I would let them dry for a day or two before putting them in the bag. They would be a little less likely to have surface bacteria. Some people use a weak sodium hypochlorite(chlorox) solution to sterilize the cuttings,then use sterile water to rinse. Many people use Captan(a fungicide)to insure fungus free bulblets.
3. In order to have a controlled atmosphere,with a set amount of moisture,the bag must be closed. One thing many people do and recommend,is to zip the bag,almost all the way closed,take a fresh breath and blow it into the bag,then zip it up the rest of the way. This provides extra CO2,along with the oxygen in your breath. Good luck. If you have more questions,ask away. Someone on this forum will almost certainly know,and be glad to share.
Del

Thank you Jodik and Del,

I will set up a heating pad and hopefully I will have as much success as you have had.

Chere

The main thing to remember is... have patience! It took quite a while to see any new growth. I actually succeeded in forgetting about them for a month or so... and when I checked next, there were little greenish white babies growing! It was quite exciting!

And don't open the baggies, no matter what you do! Keep them as closed units until it's time to take out the results and pot them up.

What I did, after I got everything inside the baggie, was to partially close it, then inflate it by blowing air into it, like a balloon, then sealing it right away.

The warmth from the heating pad will cause the moisture inside the baggie to condensate on the sides... I just flicked it every once in a while to make the water drops go back down into the vermiculite.

Good luck! Keep us posted! :-)

I was going to reply yesterday, but ran out of steam.

When I did my twin scale cuttage on my Gordie bulb, I followed the recommendations of Veronica Read in her book (pages 219-223). Please note that on page 222 it says to place the cuttage in the dark at temps of 72 degrees plus. Since my cuttage was done in August, the house temp was 72+ so I just put them in a box and checked them every week or so.

Jodi and I did more rough cuttage last year about the same time (cut a bulb in quarters or half) and I used the dark/w room temp method and Jodi used the light/w heating mat method. Our results are very comparable. We both produced about 3 bulbs per piece and (I can't speak for Jodi) mine have already sprouted 2 leaves on the bigger bulbs.

So Chere, if you don't have the lights and you dont' have a heating mat, don't worry. You will still be successful.

Kristi

The first set of bulblets I pulled out of the baggie and potted up already had leaves growing... I didn't use the grow light until I saw leaf growth inside the baggie... if memory serves.

Here are the first babies to be potted from the cuttage... this is right after potting them...

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I think the heat mat helped considerably, since it seems to promote growth in general. And I think no lights are best while the pieces are trying to survive by producing offspring, or new bulblets... but once any leaf growth begins, I would use a light.

Even if you can't duplicate what Kristi and I did, I think you're chances are good... most bulbs, or plants in general, really want to survive and pass on their DNA for posterity... so, barring a fungal issue, I think you'll be successful.

Hey Jodi and Kristi, this was great! (Another interesting post I missed during the Haiti earthquake crisis.) How did it work out? How many bulbs did you each end up with from your original bulb?

Carol

I ended up with 14.
K

I'm sorry that this topic is an old one, but I've also a question about cuttage.
Do you have to use vermiculite? I don't have it. I have some aquarium gravel, can I use that? And do I have to cut off all the roots?
Thank you again!

We're answering these questions in 2 separate threads. Please see your other thread for the responses!
K

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I did something wrong, because it didn't appear. So I made a new thread. Sorry.

Nope...your question about sand/gravel is being discussed on another thread!!
:-)

By doing the cuttings as the pictures above show, how long does it take to get a plant that will bloom?

(Somewhere I read that by planting seeds, it takes 3 to 5 years to get a blooming plant?)

I'd say this is just a little faster than seeds, but you are still looking at ~3 years.
K