I was talking to a friend today who had made some brownies with chestnuts; when I asked "what kind of chestnuts" she replied " shrink wrapped chestnuts from the Asian grocery stores". I immediately asked if she had seen shrinkwrapped lily bulbs. She had, and she volunteered that the ones she saw had hadtheir core removed to, as she put it, “prevent us from growing our own." Earlier, someone had mentioned that bulbs weresold with the basal plate removed. If you want to grow these mutilated bulbs on, don’tbe discouraged. I’ll be out hunting some down this weekend, and when I get themhome I’ll take the mutilation a step further: I’ll break up the bulbs andseparate the individual scales. After separating the scales, allow the base todry a bit and then sow them in a medium appropriate to lilies. Over the nextfew months they should form bulblets. After that, keep an eye on them. If theystart to produce leaves, get them out into the light. If they do not formleaves, move them to the refrigerator for a few months. Either way, you shouldget lots of healthy young plants next summer. Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where Lycoris radiata is in full bloom in local gardens (but not mine). _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/