Jim, The bulbils that form on the lower stems of some species (C. luteus, C. argillosus, C. venustus and others) are not attached to living tissue after the season they form - so there's no need to leave them in-place. Some bulbs of Calochortus will also split - ie the bulb itself divides. I have seen this in the weedianai section and in the star tulips. In this case, the split bulbs may still be connected in the next season - but the yearly regeneration of the bulbs should mean they are not connected after that. Speaking of the bulbils, here's a tip for propagation: If you remove the flower buds from stems with bulbils, the plant will put its energy into the bulbil rather than flowers/seeds. I have gotten bulbils the size of a chickpea using the method - a 3-4 year head start on normal seedlings/bulbils. This is also a way to get clones of nice forms without needed to dig the bulb. Note: Only some species produce bulbils so check the species. As for slow emergence, the bulbils start life without a developed root plate so they likely need extra time when they start growing to catch up to their mothers. -|<ipp ________________________________ From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> on behalf of Jim Barton via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Sent: Friday, January 15, 2021 7:59 AM To: pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Cc: Jim Barton <jimb@customwindowsupply.com> Subject: [pbs] Small bubs I have noticed that my small Calochortus bulbs I have separated from the parent bulb are much much slower to come up than the parent bulbs. Is it best to leave them attached to the parent or separate them and plant them shallower than the large bulbs? Also, it seems that bulbs left undisturbed in the pot or ground come up much sooner than those I have repotted. Any thoughts? JIM BARTON _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>