Thank you Alberto. I can't see why itcaused the seedling so much bother though, to start into growth. As I had to ease the brown casing off before it would start into growth again. I have found that the Habranthus "blue" which I grow, has the same problemwith breaking out of the brown casing. Ina Ina Crossley Auckland New Zealand zone 10a On 11/10/2013 6:51 a.m., Alberto Castillo wrote: > A long brown neck is normal since these bulbs grow deep in their hot, coastal, rocky desertic soil in the wild. > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >