On 6/9/10 8:36 AM, songbird wrote:
hello all,
i'm trying to rescue a few tulip beds and
will be redoing them from scratch this year,
the bulbs that are already there i would like
to lift and store, but i haven't done much
with actually storing them before (i usually
plant them and leave them in the ground).
i will lift them rinse them and dunk them in a
antifungal to make sure i'm not moving the fungus
along with them.
when i try to find fungus stuff to dunk in i'm
coming up with Bordeaux mix and not much
else, but there should be some other things that
are not so toxic to the other good critters out
there? my main concern here is that some had
fungus attacking them this year and i'd like to
move them and leave the fungus behind...
i was thinking that limewater alone would
probably be ok as long as they were not soaking
in it for too long? (calcium hydroxide powder
mixed in water, not too strong, perhaps a few
tablespoons per gallon) then let them dry.
as for actual storage, dusting with anti-fungal
powders is recommended, but what would you use
here? corn starch and a little baking soda mixed
together? or?
i have shredded paper to use as a storage
material, and was going to dunk and dry this
too as extra measure against spores falling off
and sticking to the bedding, i'll layer them in
box tops stacked crosswise so they'll have
plenty of air.
the trouble i see here mostly is that it will be
warm where i store them (and dry other than
the ambient humidity) and i'll be able to keep
an eye on them. perhaps up into the 90s for
a few days here or there. i always thought that
tulips liked hot and dry so i wasn't worried
about this, but some reading has me wondering...
i wish i had a root cellar or other storage place,
but not yet... i thought at first that i could dig
a hole for them and that would keep them
cooler, but they need to be kept dry too and
that's not going to work for any holes hereabouts.
thank you for your answers, insight, questions,
etc.
other musings in other posts... 
songbird
I don't think lime water is effective as a fungicide. If you really had
a fungus and not a virus, I would use sulfur.
Buy some DUSTING sulfur. Don't get granular soil sulfur. Make sure it
is dust, which can still be used in the soil. Sulfur is a natural
element, not something manufactured.
Wait until all foliage dies and the bulbs go dormant. Dig them up and
discard any that are already infected.
Put the remaining bulbs -- a few at a time -- in a paper or plastic bag
with a generous amount of dusting sulfur. Gently shake the bag to
ensure each bulb is well coated with sulfur.
If you live in a cold-winter climate suitable for tulips, replant them
immediately. Don't bother storing them. If you live in a mild-winter
climate, store them in a cool, dark place in slightly moist peat moss,
which inhibits fungus; then refrigerate them in the vegetable bin for
about 6-8 weeks just before planting.
Whenever you replant them, stir a handful of bone meal into the bottom
of the planting hole. Stir a half-handful of sulfur into the rest of
the soil from the hole. Place about an inch of the sulfured soil above
the bone meal area so that the bulb does not directly touch the
fertilizer. Plant.
The bone meal will supply phosphorus, which promotes flowers, roots, and
new bulbs. The sulfur will be slowly converted into sulfuric acid,
which will act as a fungicide.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary