First... good save! I think with the proper care, it should be ok. Set it aside for several days to dry before potting it up.

I wouldn't use vermiculite straight... it may hold too much moisture. I would use a mix of your potting medium and perlite, instead. I'd plant the bulb with the wound facing up, sort of above the soil level. On an angle, is what I mean. Very careful watering is a must.

I'm so sorry to be seeing all this rot! This isn't good, although it is late in the season. At this point, it's almost to be expected. This bulb is one more reason to save your dollars in a bulb fund so you can order early, when the bulbs are fresh.

I know how hard it is to resist when the bulb companies have sales... I've been there! This late in the game, it's a risk. But we do sometimes get lucky, and we're able to add to our collections for a fraction of the original cost!

Good luck with Samba!

Wow-- never saw a scape ...erm... in utero? hehe...

Anyway-- I second that- good save! please post back here with updates.

Wow Java, you are just getting all the patients sent to you this year! I hate to see it...so frustrating isn't it? I'm glad you're posting and sharing all the details with everyone. I think there are a lot of people who read and learn from these postings, but don't post their own responses.

I hate you had to cut off the bloom! It looks like you were able to catch it in time and you've done a great job removing the nasty part. I will recommend what I have learned here from Jodi and Maria to use a cotton ball and wipe the bulb all over with a mix of 50% water and 50% hydrogen peroxide. Allow it to dry for a while and then mix a little water with Captan to make a "paste" of sort and paint the entire bulb with it and allow it to dry for a week or at least a few days. I have found this method very effective and you'll know because no more red will be present after the process. Then I would pot it in a very well draining mix, but very high in the pot so that moisture or medium doesn't touch the part you just removed. Water very carefully and sit back and wait for all the pretty leaves to come!

Good luck, and yes please let us know how it goes.

-Frank

Frank,

Thanks for passing on the tips from Maria and Jodi about the hydrogen peroxide mix and Captan paste. I dusted the bulb with sulfur and then took a Q-tip to spread the dry powder around. A paste would have been easier.

Since my Captan is in the mail, I might wash the sulfur off, treat it with hydrogen peroxide and then use C aptan. Or maybe I should just stay with the sulfur since that is what I did. Ideas?

Jodi,

Do I have the right idea about the tilt? I tried to draw the prospective soil line on the photo.

{{gwi:386764}}

Basically, do on purpose what I did accidentally with Papillio when I tried to keep the two bulblets above the soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poor Papillio

Yes... the basic idea is to keep the raw wound from getting moist, and giving it time to heal over before allowing soil to touch it. I really paint the anti-fungal powder on thick when the wound is near the basal plate.

Eventually, if the bulb makes it, those layers where the wound was will grow out, and when you re-pot it, you can straighten out the bulb. Growing them at an angle is no big deal, and doesn't hurt them, at all.

It's too bad the rot went all the way to where the bud was. But, these things happen. You're doing a very good job saving these guys! You'll be an expert bulb surgeon by next bulb season!

I think you'll find that most fresh bulbs aren't like this, and you won't have these problems at the beginning of a season. It's nice to just take off the single outer layer of dead tissue and pot it right up, I can tell you!

With good care, these bulbs should be ready for blooming by next spring. Or even possibly next winter if you force a dormancy.

You're doing good, though! I can tell you really like your bulbs! :-)

Samba is now in its new home. I put it in a mixture of Orchid soil, Perlite and Pumice (2:1:1). Since it is still green, I think there is hope that it will survive. I dusted the wound liberally with Captan.

I tried to put it on an angle so that the wound would stay dry.

{{gwi:386767}}

Here is a close up of the wounded area:

{{gwi:386768}}

Looking at it now, I did not put the soil up as high on the wounded side as I originally planned. See previous photo where I tried to draw the soil line. Should I add some more soil or straighten it out a bit so that the soil touches more of the basal plate but not the shiny, center area of the bulb?

Actually, I think you're good... I'd allow it to get a little start before adding more soil. The last thing you want is more rot starting, or to give it any opportunity to start. It's that shiny open part where you had to remove part of the rotten basal plate that would be my main concern. Keep a close eye on that area.

Very good job... there's plenty of life left in that bulb. You'd be surprised at how hard these bulbs will try to survive! If you can possibly give it some bottom heat, that will promote faster root growth. Other than that, I think you've got it!