Kelly wrote: << Some plants even die if you let them go to seed. Such plants are not evolved for long life of individuals. Bulbs do seem less likely to fall into that category.>> I agree. Perhaps we are not giving sufficient consideration to the diversity of bulbous pants. Some bulbs, Rhodophiala is a good example, rarely or never make offsets and rely almost entirely on reproducing from seed. It is noticeable that these bulbs are usually short-lived if seed production is permitted to continue unchecked, whereas dead-heading appears to prolong bulb-life considerably. In the case of some Rhodophiala I have noticed that they appear to decline after only 3-4 years of continuous seed production. The bulbs flower repeatedly during summer and are capable of producing large quantities of seed but only at enormous expense to the bulb. In this case dead-heading appears to preserve both vigour and bulb-life, perhaps because the plant still needs to fulfil its main task of reproduction. On the other hand I have noticed no such effect in Nerine or Hippeastrum which usually produce offsets quite freely. However, I have a bulb of Hippeastrum brasilianum which has not produced a single offset in 7 years. It is, however, self-fertile as are many Rhodophiala. Conversely, H. petiolatum is self-sterile and produces offsets by the dozen so dead-heading would make no difference. Some old-wives may have got it right - it depends on what they were growing. Cheers. Den Wilson Isle of Wight UK. Zone 8 (maritime) almost frost-free.