basal disk and veltheimia
Paul Tyerman (Sun, 14 Nov 2004 03:11:16 PST)

At 03:13 14/11/04, you wrote:

Tsuh,

Contrary to all teachings I heave heard regarding bulbs and basal
plates.... I did exactly the same thing a little while back and took a
chance and planted the broken "top" of the bulb it back into a pot. After
noting that the leaves all stayed green and happy after 6 weeks I removed
the bulb from the pot and found roots emerging from between scales in 2
places on the base of the bulb. I can guarantee that all the basal plate
was removed (incidentally, if you plant the basal plate you should
definitely get growth from it) so I would have thought this was
impossible.... but it has happened.

This took place about 3 months ago. I have now planted the bulb in a shady
position in the garden to observe what happens. I expect that at the very
least the leaves are continuing to feed the bulb and it will aid in the
formation of bulblets between the scales (similar to twin scaling, but
without the basal plate piece) but I am waiting to find out whether the
bulb just continues to grow and somehow recovers a basal plate. I know
that in other bulbs where I have done this (Crinum and Narcissus) the
leaves have died off quite rapidly after the basal plate is removed. Not
quite sure why I took the chance with the veltheimia, but it is certainly
behaving differently to anything I have seen before. At this stage 3
months after the removal of the plate I still have all the leaves green and
happy, and I know at least 2 large roots are growing from between the
scales. This goes against what is "supposed" to happen with bulbs, but I
can at least give you first hand experience on what CAN result from an
accident such as yours.

I would be interested to hear how your bulb behaves with your similar
circumstances. According to botanical sources there should be no hope for
growth without the basal plate (even twin-scaling requires a piece of the
basal plate with the scales) yet in the case of my bulb it definitely
produced roots from between the scales without there being any basal plate
attached. Very strange to say the least, but it will be interesting to see
what results in the future from this. Needless to say I will be keeping an
eye on it to see what it does in the future.

Hopefully this experience is of some use to you. Good luck!!

Cheers.

Paul Tyerman
Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9

Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Trilliums, Cyclamen,
Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Oxalis, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just
about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!