Tulip Fire
Botrytis tulipae
A destructive fungal blight of tulips, named for the scorched, fire-burnt look it gives leaves and flowers. A close relative of gray mold but specific to tulips, it can wreck a planting in a wet spring and leaves the soil contaminated for years.
🔎 How to spot it
The first shoots in late winter may emerge twisted and distorted. Leaves and petals develop small brown spots of dead tissue that enlarge, and in damp weather a fuzzy grey mould grows over the dead areas. Flowers spot and rot quickly in wet weather, and small black seed-like structures (sclerotia) form on dead tissue and on the bulb scales.
🥀 Damage it causes
Badly infected shoots are scorched and deformed and may rot before they bloom, and flowers brown and collapse. Severe outbreaks can ruin a whole bed of tulips, and the sclerotia left behind keep the site infested for several seasons.
🔬 What causes it
The fungus Botrytis tulipae, which survives as sclerotia in the soil and in bulb scales for years and as airborne spores from the grey mould. Cool, wet, humid springs and crowded plantings drive rapid spread. It is a significant problem only on tulips, with occasional infection of lilies.
🛡️ Prevent it
Inspect bulbs before planting and discard any with sclerotia, dark spots, or decay. Space bulbs for good air circulation, avoid overhead watering, and remove fading flowers and foliage promptly. Do not replant tulips on an affected site for at least three years.
🧯 If it is already here
There are no chemical controls available to home gardeners for tulip fire, so it is managed by sanitation: pull and destroy infected plants and spotted leaves and flowers as soon as they appear, and clear all tulip debris at the end of the season. Rotate tulips to fresh ground and start over with clean bulbs.
💡 Good to know
Because the fungus is specific to tulips, the rest of the garden is safe, but the contaminated soil is not, which is why a multi-year break from tulips on that ground is the single most important step.
🌱 Plants it affects
13 plants in the library can be affected by this problem
For educational and informational purposes only. Disease management advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a problem positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.