I planted one in an 18 inch pot on 1 May 2006 and kept in my small greenhouse. The root mass had no sign of life when I planted. I planted it in the outside in the ground on 23 May 2006. When removing it from the pot there were numerous shoots coming from the eyes all around the root mass. Every effort was taken to remove from the starting pot with minimum disturbance of the root mass. The green leaves were just starting to protrude from the top about half an inch long. I must admit is is a slow starter, but the green shoots are growing a little even in the two days it has been in full sun. The planting hole is a mixture of compost and, clay and some wood chips to facilitate drainage. This is my first time growing this plant, and I am looking forward to see how large it gets. The link is to pictures of the root mass at planting time in the greenhouse. Here is a link that might be useful: The left picture is the leaf side plant upwards

The 1st picture is the side you plant facing up. The last picture is showing where your bulb was broken off of another bulb. Some other advice: - These bulbs are very prone to rotting in cool spring weather especially if the soil is too wet. - They can take a long time to get going but once the warm weather hits they will take off. Be patient. - If you want to get a headstart plant first in a pot. Water the soil thoroughly and place the whole pot in a clear plastic bag sealed at the top. Place in a warm sunny location. Once you see some sprouts then open the bag. - Planting outside early in the cool ground won't speed up growth. High temps are key so it's sometimes better to wait. Good luck

Looks like over-watering/a water-retentive soil is the likely issue, but aluminum toxicity is a severely limiting condition that can occur when aluminum is available and the pH of the soil solution is 5.0 or lower; so you'd do well to lose the aluminum pie plate or at least raise the pot up on blocks so the effluent that drains from the pot has no pathway back into the soil. Allowing plants to sit in the drained effluent defeats the purpose of flushing the soil when we water. Al

WOW, what big ears you got. sorry, couldn't resist. wont they die back in a few wks? In the meantime you could just remove a few leaves. If you dig them out you will loose lots of leaves anyway.