Papery skin on bulbs

Am I supposed to remove the papery,onion type skin around the bulb?
All the way to the first layer of white?
OR all the way down until the outer layer is hard? (First layer of white is often loose and sorta puffy.)

If so, what about the part of the bulb that is under the soil. It will still be on there.

First year with Amaryllis :-)

Welcome to the wonderful world of amaryllis!

It's alright to leave the dried scales (layered "skins" of the bulb itself) where they are. They will eventually disintegrate and fall away.

But---many (most?) of us like to remove the dried "skins" when they have become fully dried, to rob insects of one of their hiding places and to see that the green/white scales underneath aren't host to a fungus infection or damage such as a hidden bruise. When they are loose enough, you can just pull them off the bulb or use tweezers to help you.

I usually remove all dried scales from a new bulb, and take pains to remove as much of the dried tips around the "eye" (top opening where the leaves come out) since bulb mites may be present. I may spray the whole bulb with fungicidal/insecticidal spray as well.

Sometimes a portion of a scale will remain below the soil level and it will eventually decay. I sometimes push the soil back from the bulb and use tweezers to pull those away. If there is any sign of fungus on those undersoil portions I may go ahead and remove then as soon as they can be pulled away with a gentle tug.

I usually leave the "puffy" but still fleshy scales on the bulb until they dry out. If they are otherwise healthy, I don't worry about them.

I have cut away above-soil parts of scales that were diseased or damaged, leaving the healthier potions behind. I'd rather have them dry fully, separating themselves from the basal plate on their own. Pulling them away too soon exposes a tender and area, creating a little open wound where the scale was cut or torn. I don't like my bulbs to have an open wound where it will be in contact with the soils where fungi, bacteria or pests may enter. You can dust with fungicide or sulphur powder if there are any such wounds.

R.

Thanks! Little by little I'm getting to know these bulbs pretty well, thanks to you, and others.

Is liquid/spray fungiside ok? :)

This message was edited Feb 4, 2008 10:24 PM

That's what I use.

R.