Damaged Bulbs
Rodger Whitlock (Wed, 13 Oct 2004 23:30:38 PDT)
On 13 Oct 04 at 18:47, ConroeJoe@aol.com wrote:
...sometimes (I must be really clumsy) I bring up a bulb that has
lost 90% of the basal plate--just a few roots are left hanging on
from one side.
In these cases I soak the bulb for 24-48 hours in a systemic
fungicide. Then, I dry it at room temperature for a few days (up to
a week).
Then, I plant it "above ground." I plant it so the roots or the
root stubs contact soil, but I leave most of the bulb (especially
the wrongly cut surface) above the soil line. In time, I can
salvage most of my mistakes.
How about the rest of you? How do you salvage horribly mutilated
bulbs?
I once heard a talk by Paul Christian and he extolled the virtues of
good old sulfur as a fungicide on bulb wounds. (He did a lot of
purposeful mutilation for propagation.) It works, it stays where you
put it, it's long lasting, and it has no deleterious effect on the
environment.
But he did mention that certain bulbs, arums and cyclamen among them,
tend to exude slime when he carved out the growing point, so he would
cleanse those wounds with alcohol before packing them with sulfur.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island