Tulip Fire

[Ladygardener]

I'm very worried that my new tulips, planted in pots this year have Tulip Fire. All the new shoots are coming up spotted and twisted. I thought at first it was just the odd one and due to the weather but now I'm not so sure.

[Jasmine]

It looks very like tulip fire Ladygardener. If you pull one up what are the bulbs like. I would empty the pots into your bin and scrub the pots.
I had it in one lot of tulips a few years ago.

You might be able to find some little pots of tulips at the GC if you want to replace your display.

[Jasmine]

Where did the bulbs come from - it might be worth complaining and sending your pics as it's not just 1 pot.  Don't mention tulip fire though - just tell them their bulbs were scuzzy!!!

[Ladygardener]

Oh I'm very sad Jasmine but thank you for your reply. I so look forward to seeeing my Tulips. For me it's not the same to buy them in pots already, the pleasure is in growing them. I'll have a look tomorrow in daylight to see the names of which ones are affected but I'd ordered 75 lilly tulips 25 kaufmanniana and the free Apricot Beauty which I got twice as I'd made 2 orders.

[Auricula]

Afraid it does look like Tulip Fire LG I'd certainly e mail them.... you never know

[Jasmine]

Feb 3, 2013 18:50:00 GMT Ladygardener said:

Oh I'm very sad Jasmine but thank you for your reply. I so look forward to seeeing my Tulips. For me it's not the same to buy them in pots already, the pleasure is in growing them. I'll have a look tomorrow in daylight to see the names of which ones are affected but I'd ordered 75 lilly tulips 25 kaufmanniana and the free Apricot Beauty which I got twice as I'd made 2 orders.

for you Ladygardener.
It is such a rotten thing to happen but it sounds like you had lots of tulips so hopefully some of them will be ok.  I was wondering if the rather higher than usual temps will cause a bit more tulip fire this year as winter hasn't really been properly cold.
I noticed one of my snowdrops had yucky leaves and some of them came away in my hand.
I would send you some of mine if I could

[Tig]

I'm looking at the compost they're in Ladygardener. It looks like it might be a bit on the heavy side for tulips. Perhaps if you tip them out, check the bulbs for signs of rot and discard those. Clean and replant any which look OK in fresh compost with some sand to aid drainage. They hate sitting in wet soil. Perhaps you can still save a few

[Ladygardener]

Thanks Jasmine and Auricula, I really am sad about this but hey ho things happen don't they. I will definately email J Parkers and see what they say but I'll leave it for a day or two and have a good look around. As far as I can see, it's only this years tulips that are affected. Last years mostly went to the allotment and seemed for the most part yesterday ok. I'll have to see. We did'nt get much cold weather at all this winter, mostly rain.
Sad about your Snowdrops Jasmine too.Do you think it was the wet weather?

[Ladygardener]

Feb 3, 2013 19:55:10 GMT Tig said:

I'm looking at the compost they're in Ladygardener. It looks like it might be a bit on the heavy side for tulips. Perhaps if you tip them out, check the bulbs for signs of rot and discard those. Clean and replant any which look OK in fresh compost with some sand to aid drainage. They hate sitting in wet soil. Perhaps you can still save a few

 I've just read this Tig it's just ordinary mp compost, fresh and new when I planted them in it last autumn. We did get tons of rain 'tho. I'll take them all out of their pots tomorrow and have a good look at them. I don't have any fresh compost to put them into 'tho but I'll see what shape they're in. I'll know if the bulbs are pitted then it is tulip fire.

[Tig]

There is good mpc and not so good mpc though LG. I had some that looked like what you've used, it was very fibrous and woody, held a lot of moisture and also grew a lot of 'mushrooms' when it was very wet, I think it had fungal spores in it!! If you've got an old casserole you can microwave the compost to kill off anything that's still lurking, and if you've got any perlite left you could mix some of that with it to open it up and make it more free draining before replanting.

[Ladygardener]

Ok Tig I'll do that with the microwave. The mp I'm using is the one with growmore or some kind of feed in it, it was more expensive than ordinary mp 'tho it does seem to hold onto the moisture. I'll see if any of the bulbs are worth saving. I would'nt want to take the chance of putting them into the ground just in case they have a disease.

[Auricula]

I always add lots of grit to the mp compost when I plant my tulip bulbs in pots,Ladygardener and keep them under cover when there is a lot of rain forecast ( I put poly bags on top and weight them down )

[Ladygardener]

Thanks for the tip Auricula.
I've had to destroy dozens of Tulip bulbs and all the compost they were in. There was mould growing through the bulbs and the compost. I did'nt want to take the chance of spores not being destroyed so the whole lot went to the binn. I still have a window box and a couple of pots and some in the ground with Tulips that seem to have a bit of fire but I'll leave them for the moment and see how they go.
The bulbs that were affected were the Lilly Tulips I bought from J. Parker. It was very upsetting.

[Jasmine]

Ladygardener.
Was it all the lily tulips?

[Barbara]

Oh what a shame LG, I would deffo e-mail parkers and tell them maybe others people are e-mailin them and need back up.

[Jilly]

What a shame about your Tulips Ladygardener  , definitely worth an e-mail, it sounds like it must have been a bad batch, especially if none of your older bulbs have been affected. I wouldn't feel too bad about buying a few in flower for this year, you can always plant them out afterwards.

[Ladygardener]

Barbara I have emailed them and sent them pics too.
Jasmine Thanks for the much needed hugs. It's just that we put so much hope into our little bulbs when we plant them in the autumn and I was hoping for lots of colour late spring. Yes it was mostly the 75 Lilly Tulips, the Kaufmanniana Tulips I think will be ok but I'm not sure about the Apricot Beauty. They were a late order I put in to J. Parker on 1/12/12.

Jilly I've just seen your post, thanks so much for your support. We'll see about buying some in bud a little later in the season.

[Jasmine]

Apricot Beauty is a really stately tulip! Hope it's ok. Maybe as it was a bit later the bulbs will be ok
Glad you emailed.

[Ladygardener]

Thanks Jasmine we'll see, for sure some are affected but I'm leaving them for a bit to see what happens. I just did'nt have the heart to get rid of every single tulip I have. Here are some of the bulbs I had to destroy. The pitting is common with Tulip Fire.
.

[Jasmine]

I missed your pics Ladygardener - what a shame.

I had to get rid of a pot of tulips too - the leaves looked bad and when I pulled them gently they came away from the bulbs. I just emptied the lot in our green bin. I didn't look at the bulbs.
What did you do with the compost yours were in?

[Ladygardener]

I threw everything away Jasmine, soil and bulbs all went into the bin for disposal and not for compost. J. Parkers did eventually refund the price of the bulbs but of course that in no way compensates for the effort and the compost and the hopes that I had of a lovely display of tulips this year.

[Jasmine]

No, it doesn't indeed Ladygardener

The pot I had to get rid of was a left over one from last year that had just started re-sprouting. I left most of last years tulips in their pots so it will be interesting to see what the rest do

[Ladygardener]

Thanks Jasmine . It could be all the rain over the winter that destroyed yours. I've got some from last year at the allotment and the leaves were badly beaten and eaten by slugs but they have started to bloom.
Hopefully yours will bloom for you, did you notice any mould on the leaves you pulled up or were they just rotten?

[Jasmine]

The leaves were just brown and soft and squidgy Ladygardener, not completely but enough to make you think they looked bad and then when I gripped the leaves they just came clean away from the bulbs.

I wonder if they didn't get enough proper cold in late autumn/early winter.

[Ladygardener]

Perhaps Jasmine, the cold helps to prevent the tulip fire I think.

[Auricula]

I was reading that the best way to prevent it is to plant the bulbs late, never before November / December. I think that must be something to do with temperature. Nearly all my tulips are in flower now .

[Ladygardener]

Yes I've always know that too Auricula the tulips in question however were planted at the end of November or December. They were extras I'd ordered late. Some of my tulips are coming into flower now too. Some of the rockery ones seem to have very big leaves and tiny tiny flowers.

[Auricula]

Yes, some of mine seem to have unusually short stems

[Jasmine]

One of my 'to do' jobs for today was to empty out the pots of tulips that looked like there was something wrong with them. The 3 worst were pots left over from last year and the leaves looked horrible and the flowers looked mottled. The bulbs weren't too bad when I tipped them out but the tulips themselves just looked really unhealthy. Then I spotted some of this years tulips didn't look good either so I pulled the horrid ones expecting the stalk to break off but the whole thing, bulbs and all came up. The bulbs were seriously mouldy and the root systems were really poor. I'm wondering about doing less tulips next year...I only tip out half the compost when I redo pots and I wonder if tulip bulbs need fresh everything to stop moulds developing and lurking

[Ladygardener]

It's a real shame is'nt it Jasmine the unhealthy leaves really take away from the flowers. I won't be buying as many next year for sure and I think I'll stick with my little species ones like I have in the past. I'm have a feeling that I used fresh compost on mine last year so I don't think it's that but I can't be certain. I won't be planting into the ground any that look at all bad as I wouldn't want disease in my borders.