Series II - Intense Bulb Surgery...
Something Kristi said in another post made me take a closer look at my Emerald bulb, which has appeared to be asleep since I received it. It came in from Easy To Grow Bulbs along with Queen of Hearts and a few other bulbs, which have all bloomed. Some are on their second scapes of bloom right now. So, by now, Emerald should have at least pushed up a little something green.
Emerald felt rooted in, firm in the pot when I gently tugged at it. The bulb, itself, felt firm and there was green live tissue visible on the upper portion of the outer layers.
I took the potted bulb off the heating pad, and began to carefully break away some of the dried tissue at the neck of the bulb, and this, Figure 1, is what I found...
Figure 1
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These are the pieces of dead tissue I pulled away from the neck of the bulb, Figure 2...
Figure 2
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My heart sank as I looked into the gaping neck of Emerald, Figure 3, because I knew that the dark tissue I was looking at was rotten, and I knew I would have to prepare for surgery, and ultimately, to possibly lose the bulb.
Figure 3
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I prepped for surgery, gathering all the necessary tools, Figure 4, laying out a newspaper work surface, and washing my hands. I gathered together my craft knife kit, glasses, fungicide, paper towels, rooting hormone powder, paintbrush, and vermiculite and baggies in case I had to resort to cuttage.
Figure 4
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I un-potted the bulb and gently knocked the soil from the roots. Figure 5. The roots weren't as extensive as I had thought they'd be, but there were some healthy roots. At the time I originally potted Emerald, I had been forced to use a plastic pot and a more organic soil as I was out of some supplies.
Figure 5
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I took layers off the neck, hoping the rot didn't extend too far down into the bulb. Figures 6 and 7. Unfortunately, the rot was eating away at the buds inside.
Figure 6
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Figure 7
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I peeled the dried outer layer from the bulb and prepared to cut the bulb in half to see how much damage there really was. Figure 8.
Figure 8
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Upon slicing the bulb in half with a clean, sharp knife, Figure 9, it became apparent that without cutting up the bulb, I would never be able to eradicate all of the rot, and I would probably lose the bulb.
Figure 9
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I split the bulb into four sections, Figure 10, and scraped or cut out as much of the rotten tissue as I possibly could.
Figure 10
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Once I had the four pieces clean, Figure 11, I dusted them liberally with Captan, an anti-fungal powder. I brushed a little bit of rooting hormone powder on the basal plate areas, too. It's very important that each piece have some basal plate left attached.
Figure 11
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I prepared some vermiculite for the sections by moistening it. I placed some in large baggies, added the dusted sections, Figure 12, and after inflating them slightly, closed them and placed them on a heating pad with an airbake pan as a buffer zone.
Figure 12
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I wrote the date and the name of the bulb on the bags, Figure 13, so I'll know when I cut the bulb and which one it is. I'm heartsick over cutting up my Emerald, but I will hope that I've done the right thing and will possibly get the pieces to grow tiny baby bulblets.
Figure 13
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Cuttage is not an enjoyable procedure, but it is necessary sometimes... especially if you hope to save any part of a bulb with severe fungal rot and massive amounts of rotting and dead tissue.
Now, we wait. With any luck, each section of bulb will produce tiny bulblets, and the tissue from the mother piece will help feed the bulblets as they grow. I will try to periodically update this series, so any new growth will be documented, and everyone can see the progress... if there is progress.
If I have inadvertently left out anything, please feel free to add the information, or correct me if I'm wrong about anything. Thank you. I have documented this entire procedure in case anyone needs the information. I believe Kristi also documented her foray into cuttage and twin scaling... so anyone attempting this has plenty of good information on the subject.
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