Can these moldy tulip bulbs be saved?!?!

Hoping to plant my belatedly-purchased bulbs this weekend. Problem: some of my tulips were shipped in ziploc bags and have grown blue mold--doh! Why didn't I open the bags? I have washed, peeled off and gouged out all the moldy bits I could find.

I probably should have asked this before I attacked the mold, but what are the chances that the bulbs will be able to survive their wounds and bloom? Thanks for any insights/bets.

Ruth W.

Geez...the battle scarred and wounded...

I would give all of them a bath in a mild peroxide solution ( 1/4 cup peroxide to 1 pint tap water), let them completely dry on newspaper, spray with a mixture of Banrot and water (1 teaspoon Banrot to a quart sprayer of water), let dry again, then either plant outside and mulch heavily, or store in a dark place at around a steady 50 degrees.

It's a crap shoot...maybe 60/40 chance at survival depending on your surgical skills.

The blue-green mold is prolly harmless penicillin mold and will vanish in warm and drier air. No gouging necessary, anyway. Just remove the dried scales.

There might be other fungi present that you would want to treat for.

I would plant them deep to take advantage of the stable cool temps there and for this first winter, you might mulch them well so that the soil is further protected from the variable temps of the temperate zone and are kept as cool as possible for as long as possible, if you want to try to get some flowers from the that don't blast down in the center of the foliage from heating up too fast.

Just let them dry or wash them and let them dry before planting. Do not remove any of the scales unless they are rotten. The new sprout that makes the new bulb is well protected inside this bulb which is all being used up when making this new stem, flower and bulb. You should be OK with better odds than 60/40.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Just got around to planting these guys the past couple of days, as it's supposed to freeze tonight.

Some had started to rot under the mold, which was why I started in with the gouging.

Some of them had a weird clear jelly on them, kind of like crab eggs (but not orange) all stuck together with gummy stuff. I figured it couldn't be good, so I peeled it off. Anyone know what that was?

Ruth

It's OK to peel it ff. They more than lkely were the Darwin Hybrid types of Tulips or the Red Emperor Fosteriana. When they are damaged they ooze and will continue to do that until almost nothing is left. They'll be OK.