One way to clean many bulbs of at least some viruses is to set seed and grow out a clean batch. This works well for South African irids for example. Also, mealybug damage can appear to be virus like, till you find the critters deep down in the leaves of some amaryllidaceae. Ernie DeMarie New York Z7 Looks like Tulbaghia natalensis, (grown from seed received as such) survived against the house wall this brutal winter -----Original Message----- From: Jerald Lehmann <jeraldlehmann@gmail.com> To: pbs <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Mon, Apr 7, 2014 10:49 am Subject: [pbs] Virused Bulbs Are any bulbs virused in habitat and have been brought into cultivation? If so, is having that virused bulb really that bad? And if a virused bulb can grow and bloom without any signs of loss of vigor, is having that virused bulb really that bad? I'm trying to figure out what is so bad about growing virused plants. There are so many infected plants out there - not just bulbs - that I'm thinking it's becoming a way of life for those of us interested in growing our collections. Viruses can almost come from just about anywhere, such as from the hands of tobacco users. --Jerry Lehmann, Olathe, KS, USA