Can moldy bulbs be saved?

I didn't get around to planting bulbs in the fall. I had stored them in the garage and I thought they would be okay, but a lot were moldy. Some were too far gone and those were thrown out. But I did have many hyacinth that were only somewhat moldy so I carefully peeled back the bad layers and gently rinsed and dried the bulbs. I potted them up (in a seed starting mix because that's all I had), sprinkled them with bulb fertilizer and put them outside. There were also tulips and daffodils. What do you think the chances are that I managed to save some of them? Tamara

A lot of the molds that occur in storage are not harmful ones. If they are only on the dried tunics (brown skins on the bulbs) chances are they ore not harmful, maybe just common blue-green molds, like penicillin.

I think you've saved your bulbs. Just keep them from freezing in the pots. Give them 12 weeks or more at 40-45F, keeping them moist, so they can grow roots. A spare fridge set a little higher than for food storage also works, but some people use their regular fridge set usually around 34F. Just don't let them freeze.

R.

Whew! I know that some won't make it, but at least if half make it, I would be happy. Thanks for the tip on freezing. I have a separate room in our unfinished basement that is pretty cold. I'll have to put them there. There is very little light...will that be a problem? When should I move them outside? Tamara

The darkness is a good thing, so you're set there.

Do check the temp of the room they're in to see that it's cool (cold) enough. You can put your pots outside when it's not so likely to freeze them, after 8-10 weeks anyway. Then when you see that your other bulbs outdoors are starting to show (if they're not crazy early like so many are this winter) you could bury the pots in the ground and let nature do its work.

R.

I did move them to the basement and realized that it was probably too warm. The attic is colder, but taking big pots up 2 flights of stairs might tick my back off. ;-) We shall see. Thanks for your help! Tamara