Elephant ear bulbs rotting in root cellar

Hi all.... I just went down to check on my tropicals in the root cellar and found that my elephant ears were 'mushy' around the shoots. I took them out and pulled back and removed the rotted vascular tissue(?) from around the shoots. The shoots are a nice light green, so the bulbs are alive... but I've found some mushy spots on the bulbs. I dug all the soft 'pulp' out of the holes and washed out the holes and the remaining slime off the bulbs. I have the bulbs sitting out right now in a cool part of the basement to dry. Now my question... is there something else that I should do before returning them to the peat mixture for the remainder of the winter storage? I still have 3 months to go before I return them to the garden outside. I've read about adding cinnamon (?)... everyones guidance is really appreciated. Thanks so much...

Cinnamon is often used as a fungicide...it helps retard the grow of fungus in the bulbs...they may have been a bit too wet over the winter...dust them with a fungicide or cinnamon and repot them, but do not water them.

It was a fast transition from fall to this winter. When I dug up everything, I had little time to let them dry out before storing away. I guess I put them away damp. I checked my cannas and they are doing fine. I'm just glad I found the problem now. So after they dry, I'll try the cinnimon 'dusting.' Thanks....

You are very welcome...good luck with them.

I use a fungicide called Flowers of Sulphur on my Dahlia's to help prevent over winter diseases or rotting of the tubers, I'm not sure IF you get that in USA but I buy mine in a small packet from the Pharmacists here in UK, it costs about a dollar, It's safe and non chemical, a yellow powder from some plant ????
Good luck. WeeNel.

We moved in the start of winter so it was fast an a extremely quick move. Condo to house week flat packing and all. I was also due to deliever my baby girl in a week or so. So you can imagine the horror when we realized we left our beloved elephant ear bulb in the ground by our patio. I sent the husband over in the middle of janurary in the pouring rain to retrieve my favorite bulb. He dug him up... put him in plastic... set him in the garage and we forgot all about him until the first of april. I took him out of the bag... white nasty mushy stuff everywhere. I shrugged... threw him in the ground and said... its now or never dude. He came up with avengence... he's beautiful... 15 leaves and counting... he loves the new home! So don't worry too much... these guys seem pretty hardy to me. But I'm a beginner so what do I know! :)