At 03:13 14/11/04, you wrote: >hi all, > >while unpotting my Veltheimia, i pulled the bulb out >of the pot and broke it off the basal disk. so now i >have a bulb with lots of leaves but no roots and a >basal disk in the pot. will either or one of them >sprout again? 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!!!!!