Amaryllis and Hippeastrums: Trimming thick basal plates, 1 by Wyckoff

Wyckoff wrote:
Thick Basal Plates interfere with root growth and will eventually cause the bulb to starve to dead. I generally find them in pots with heavy, poorly drained soil. Amaryllis are susceptible to rot if they are too wet so maybe the thick Baal Plate is an attempt to keep the bulb up out of the damp.

The worst I’ve seen was over 1.50” thick. No roots could grow through it and the bulb was declining in size.

Fortunately trimming a Basal Plate isn’t hard.

Timing: I trim Basal Plates as soon as I find a thick one.

Materials: better soil and/or sand, old, worn toothbrush, isopropyl 70% alcohol (rubbing alcohol), small/narrow paint brush, small, thin sharp knife such as a paring knife, rooting powder.

Procedure:
1. Unpot the bulb.
2. If the soil is wet and/or too heavy, prepare better soil now. Adding 50% sand will improve the drainage.
3. It’s not necessary to trim the leaves.
4. Clean the bulb. Be very careful to protect any healthy roots. Rinse the soil off the bottom of the bulb and the roots. I used an old, worn toothbrush to clean the ridges at the bottom of the bulb. More than 3 ridges is generally a problem.
5. Determine if there are any salvageable roots.
6. Use isopropyl 70% alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to sterilize the bottom part of the bulb and the ridges. I use a ½” wide paint brush to “paint” these areas.
7. Use isopropyl 70% alcohol to sterilize the knife you’ll use to trim the Basal Plate. I dip the knife in the alcohol and then flame it over a sink.
8. If there are no roots, gently peel through the layers of the Basal Plate until only 1 or 2 ridges remain. This is much like peeling an apple. There will be white dots around the cut edge of the Basal Plate where the roots will grow.
9. If there are salvageable roots, cut perpendicular to the bottom of the bulb in-between the roots. I frequently end up with an “X” pattern on the bottom. Then gently insert the knife through the ridges to remove pie-shaped pieces of the Basal Plate where there are no roots.
10. Once all the cutting is done, sterilize all the cuts.
11. Allow the bulb to dry.
12. If there are no remaining roots, wet the cut bottom of the bulb and then dip it into a shallow plate of rooting powder. Repot the bulb to the shoulder sufficiently to keep the bulb stable.
13. If there are remaining roots, gently spray the cut bottom and roots with water. Then sprinkle the roots and cut Basal Plate with rooting powder. I keep rooting powder in a spice container that has numerous small holes in the top. Then repot the bulb.
14. Water and return to a sunny location. Protect from cold below 50°.

I have photos of this somewhere and will try to find some... The only photo I could find quickly shows no leaves, no roots and the thick Basal Plate.

Yes, this bulb survived!

Candace


This message was edited Jan 15, 2014 11:57 PM