Nicholas. My feeling is that your bulb will be fine if you let it bloom. As for the roots rotting, I suspect they were near death when you purchased the bulb. Several years ago, when I lived in Augusta, GA, I bought a H. cybister Chico bulb, also practically rootless, at a local nursery. I potted it in LECA (Aliflor or Hydroton), with the neck exposed, and the bulb did quite well, blooming every spring. During the summer, the plant was kept outdoors in good sun (western exposure) and received water at least three times a week. In winter, I kept it indoors and watered it infrequently (twice a month?) and it would lose its leaves. It would bloom in early spring (if I remember correctly) on a three foot (one meter) stalk which made the plant look awkward, but the flowers were worth it. LECA is Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate -- brown particles about 1/2 inch (13 mm) in diameter. You can pick it up in hydroponics shops. There should be several of those in the Durham, NC area; if not, I know there's one in Charlotte. Some nurseries may carry it too. I have no experience with Stalite (expanded shale) but it may be just as good as LECA. Eugene Zielinski Prescott Valley, AZ USA > [Original Message] > From: Nicholas plummer <nickplummer@gmail.com> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Date: 12/22/2013 9:32:11 AM > Subject: [pbs] Rootless Hippeastrum cybister > > Earlier this autumn, I purchased a Hippeastrum cybister 'Chico' from one of > the large commercial bulb companies. It arrived dormant with a few > dessicated roots, so I potted in a mix of about 50% stalite, 50% potting > soil and kept it dry. When the inflorescence appeared, I started giving it > a little water. That may have been a mistake. Yesterday, I knocked the pot > over, and the bulb rolled out. The dessicated roots have rotted away, and > there is no sign of new root growth. I have repotted the bulb into pure > gravel, just to hold it steady. > > What should I do now?