Is this rotten?

Got my very first Amaryllis bulb yesterday - am so very excited and have been browsing the forum. I potted it up because it appears to have some growth. 15 minutes after potting it, I notice gnats on my bulb. I do not have gnats in the house and they are obviously from the bulb. The center had a soft spot so I cut it back about 1/2 inch. Today, the center has slowly turned soft and it is getting bigger. Is my bulb rotten?? I am going to be so heartbroken.... :-( Any advice please.
~chele

Hi!

Your bulb is not rotten but the neck of the bulb is beginning to rot and that can quickly spread.

You do need to take a very sharp and clean knife and cut away the softened portion. The gnats are most likely attracted to the bulb because of the soft spot.

After you have thoroughly removed the soft spot, use a paper towel or something to dry the cut (make sure it is very dry and remains dry). Using a fungicide like Captan helps tremendously, but it is still necessary to remove all the rotted portions.

Other than that, the bulb itself looks okay.

Keep us posted....

Sterilize the knife by flaming it, as you make each slice, down to dry tissue, otherwise you just reinfect the healthy part.
Also dust the top with ground cinnamon, which is a natural antiseptic. Once you bring gnats into the house, they are in the house!!! Watering with a solution of 1 cup hydrogen peroxide/ gallon of water, will kill the gnat eggs in the soil, to help keep the problem under control.

Have you considered taking it back to where you bought it from?

Thanks for the advice and I will remember cinnamon (did not know that)....however, I am sending the bulb back. I cut it back down another 1" and the soft spot went down into the bulb - didn't want to dig any further than that. This morning it looks like applesauce again. :-(

Yes, you have a rotten bulb!

Thanks all for confirming my theory. So very sad that my first expierence with Amaryllis was such a rotten one....hee hee, however the store is shipping me a new one. Yea! It was a Cherry Nymph and maybe I'll get blooms by Christmas. Now to fight the gnats. :-)