Interesting feedback. A few comments: A reminder: don't compost diseased or infested material. Very few compost heaps actually get hot enough to kill infective organisms. Hans-Werner Hammen <haweha@hotmail.com> mentions the bulb scale mite Steneotarsonemus laticeps. Remember that the concept of spontaneous generation was disproved centuries ago. You can reduce the risk of pests getting into your bulb collections by quarantining new acquisitions and inspecting them minutely before putting them in with the rest of your valuable bulbs. Carol Jensen <jorna@mobilixnet.dk> mentions cutting out diseased portions of bulbs infected by red blotch, a fungal disease. Many, many years ago, I heard Paul Christian give a talk on bulb propagation, and he repeatedly referred to his use of sulfur as a fungicide on propagation wounds. He felt that sulfur was a very good choice because it was a powerful fungicide, cheap, not harmful to the environment, and stayed where he put it. In cases where the wound was a cavity, he would pack the entire wound with sulfur. Carol's idea is a very good one, but a dose of powdered sulfur on the wounded area might make it an even better one. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island