OREGON BULB FPARMS, SANDY, QREGON P. 

PLES —Gontiniwed: 
Unfortunately, many amateur gardeners are convinced of the fact that the varieties 
with the largest bulbs have the prettiest flowers and are reluctant to try such types as 
Corcolor, Amabile or Formosanum because the bulbs are so small and the mammoth 
bulbs of Henryii or Centifolium on the next counter look like a much better buy. 
HANDLING AND STORAGE OF LILY BULBS 
Dormant lily bulbs, as they are shipped in the fall, are not as completely dormant as 
are daffodil or tulip bulbs and they therefore require somewhat different conditions of 
storage. 
Since the basal roots of many varieties are truly perennial, packing and storage should 
be such that these roots are kept in good condition from the time the bulb is dug in the 
field until it is planted in the garden. While we make every effort to dig and pack with 
utmost care, this additional effort and expense on our part is too often wasted by careless 
methods of display and storage. A tray or box of lily bulbs displayed in a warm store 
may conceivably stimulate sales, but at the same time it is slow, certain death to the 
bulbs. The loss of roots and excessive drying out of the bulb will, in most cases, prevent 
the plant from making a satisfactory display the first season in much the manner as would 
a shrub which had dried out in the nursery sales yard. 
Perhaps the simplest solution to proper storage is to check your bulbs when they arrive 
in the fall and if all looks well leave them in the original packing cases. If it is desirable 
to display a few bulbs, keep them in peat, sphagnum, sand, sawdust or similar material 
which has been just bare/y moistened. Later on in the season, if the packing material 
becomes too dry, remove the bulbs, moisten the material and replace the bulbs. 
Those bulbs which remain at the end of the season as “‘surplus”’ stock are very often 
“surplus” simply because they were allowed to become shriveled and dried. This condi- 
tion can usually be remedied by removing the dried outer scales, pruning back the roots— 
(or remove them entirely if necessary) and place the bulb in a moist, humid atmosphere 
for a day or two or until it becomes plump and solid. Placing the bulbs on damp peat 
moss and covering them with a box works well. 
Too much moistures in the packing material is an invitation to rot. The loose con- 
struction of the bulbs makes it almost impossible to handle them without breaking oft a 
few of the outer scales. This is particularly true with such varieties as Pardalinum 
giganteum, Shuksan and the Bellingham Hybrids. The tissue thus exposed on the basal 
plate of the bulb provides an easy entry for rots and molds. Thus the ideal packing is 
one loose enough in texture to permit circulation of air and moist enough to prevent 
drying off of the roots and dessication of the outer scales. Cool temperatures (40 to 45 
degrees Fahrenheit) are necessary for bulbs to be held for any length of time in storage 
since higher temperature will encourage early emergence of new roots and shoots. 
Early planting by your customers will, of course, solve most of your storage and 
handling problems but unfortunately this ideal condition will probably remain just an 
‘““deal” for most dealers. The next best thing is the continual stressing of early planting 
of fresh bulbs to all your customers. By so doing you favor yourself as well as the hopeful 
gardener, most of whom are all too unaware of the perishable nature of the bulbs they 
purchase. Bulbs which are left in the garage or basement until it seems convenient to 
plant them out in the garden, often fail to give full satisfaction for that very reason. Con- 
stant education seems to be the only answer and since the retail dealer is the personal 
