Thank you John, It is good to have someone else recognise that there is more distinction between bulb and corm than the tunic. How does the 'superficial' formation of the flower bud on a corm shoot compare to the formation of a flower bud on the basal plate within a bulb, with regard to the timing during the growth cycle (especially warm Summer 'dormancy'), further development during chilling in winter, and the effect of growing conditions when rooting takes place and top growth starts? Peter (UK) On 2 March 2014 21:27, John Grimshaw <john@oltarakwa.co.uk> wrote: > I think Peter is making a distinction with little difference here: in both > bulbs and corms the flower buds develop on a growth shoot, but in a corm > the > growth bud develops superficially on the swollen stem that forms the > storage > body, whereas in a bulb it grows from the compressed stem found within the > whorls of swollen leaf bases/modified leaves that form the bulb. In > consequence, the development of flower buds in a cormous plant occurs as > the > shoot expands 'once growth resumes', and is thus more visible. Dormancy is > a > difficult word - it is a mistake to think that nothing is happening in the > depths of a bulb in summer, just because nothing can be seen, whereas in > fact the shoot is organising itself to greater or lesser extent. > > John Grimshaw >