Here's another picture - view from above:

Peel peel peel!!!
Does that layer feel a little mushy??
Had you previously peeled it down to a clean layer?
You definitely want to avoid and soft spots. Brown, green, white are healthy (and the occasional pink on cybisters). Other colors such as red or orange signal some problem.
Keep us posted!
K

That's the funny part, the bulb feels firm to the touch! Not mushy at all. When I was planting it , the surface of the bulb was whitish-greenish, with occasional micro red spots. This odd coloring developed about a week after potting, it has been this way for about 2 weeks now. The bulb has woken up and started growing - both leaves and a scape.

Lena,
Just take your fingernail and peel a little bit off and if it is green underneath and the red skin is crispy then you're probably alright. You would certainly know if it was mushy so you're probably alright. I have a pot of aulicum seedlings and one of the golf ball sized bulbs had that same red and I was worried too but the bulb was nice and green underneath and in a few weeks the red was dried and easily flaked off to reveal a totally green bulb underneath.
If you continue to have doubts than do as Kristi suggests and peel down to a solid layer..it won't hurt the bulb at all even if it isn't necessary. Good Luck....Donna

Red just scares me... My poor bulbs shiver in their pots when they see me coming!!
(Smile)
K

Donna,
i examined the bulb once again, the surface is firm, but it looks like it might be drying very slightly, the bulb looks happy. I'll keep a close eye on it for the time being.
Kristi,
believe me, red scares me no end, too. At first I thought it was some kind of virus infection,but then read up on the subject and thought that maybe that wasn't the case as the virus normally manifests itself in the leaves, or am I wrong?
Lena

You're right....

Good news from my "colored" bulb! The upper two layers have dried and I peeled part of them off - underneath was a perfectly green and healthy bulb! It's busy growing 2 scapes at the moment!

Yay!!! Looks great!!
K

A little update on this "Christmas Gift" bulb! It bloomed again a week ago and has also produced two babies! It had lost all its foliage for some reason - found it this way after coming back from a long vacation. It was watered regularly by friends, probably, and most likely, overwatered. Thank god, there are no signs of rot.

Here's a close-up of the same scape:

Very pretty!

What a fun thing to come home to!