Thank you! I was already beginning to think that I mixed up my instructions. As you can guess by my surname my husband's folks are from England. His grandfather was a professional gardener (too bad he died before he could teach me grafting) and I kept his books. Even with the quality bagged soil in Canada one never knows if it has been "cooked" sufficiently to kill the pathogens. I often find pieces of not quite decomposed wood in "Triple Mix" If is is indeed basal rot, maybe if the minimum temperature was a bit higher in the greenhouse this would not have happened. Or I overwatered the bulb at same point that started the rot and it was too late even though it was not wet at the time I noticed it. It is hard to be precise in a greenhouse that is jam packed with overwintering plants. I envy you your zone 8. Not too hot for daffodils, but not too cold for other bulbs, I think. Bea Spencer, zone 5 -----Original Message----- From: Brian Whyer Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 7:25 PM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] amarcrinum This would have been standard practise at one time. The manure suitably stacked, aged, sieved and mixed with garden soil and sand. Convenient plastic bags of potting compost have not always been available. ;-) 30 years ago my father (a gardener all his life) used to complain when I bought him bags of JI compost and it had grit in it. He often sieved it out before he used it. Brian Whyer, Buckinghamshire, England, zone ~8-ish