Damaged Bulbs

Rodger Whitlock totototo@pacificcoast.net
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


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