The main signs of unhealthy bulbs to watch for include soft spots, visible mold, and dry shriveled skin. These problems tell you the bulb is damaged and may not grow at all in your garden. Check every bulb before you put it in the ground to avoid wasting good garden space on bulbs that will fail to bloom.
Learning how to inspect bulbs takes just a few seconds per bulb once you know what to look for. Pick up each bulb and give it a gentle squeeze between your fingers. A healthy bulb feels firm and solid like a fresh onion from the grocery store. A bad bulb feels soft and gives under pressure like a squishy grape going bad.
I check every bulb by hand before planting even when I buy from trusted sources that rarely send bad ones. In my experience, even the best suppliers sometimes have a few damaged bulbs slip into a big order. Those few minutes of checking save me from planting bulbs that will never bloom in spring.
Soft spots on a bulb usually mean bacterial rot has started eating away at the flesh inside. This damage spreads fast and the bulb will likely turn to mush in your soil over winter. Damaged bulbs identification is easy once you know what to feel for. Press on the papery outer skin and check for spots that give.
Visible mold on the surface means fungal infection has taken hold of your bulb already. White, blue, or green fuzzy patches signal that the bulb sat in damp conditions too long before it reached you. These bulbs can spread disease to your soil so toss them in the trash rather than compost.
Dry shriveled skin tells you the bulb lost too much moisture while sitting in storage somewhere. A healthy bulb has smooth tight skin that wraps close around the flesh inside. When that skin looks baggy and wrinkled with the bulb shrunk inside, the bulb has dried out too much to grow well.
Colorado State research shows that bulb quality indicators include size as a key factor. Bigger bulbs produce bigger flowers because they have more stored energy inside. Undersized bulbs may grow but will make smaller blooms. Look for the fattest bulbs in your bag for the best spring show.
Buy your bulbs from reputable garden centers or online suppliers that store them in proper conditions. Look for bulbs that feel heavy for their size which shows they have good moisture content inside. Avoid bargain bins of bulbs that have been sitting out in warm store aisles for weeks on end.
Plant your bulbs within a week or two of buying them whenever you can manage it. Bulbs are living things that keep using up their stored energy while they sit around waiting to be planted. The longer they wait in your garage or closet, the less energy they have left for growing roots and flowers.
Visible mold on the surface means fungal infection has taken hold of your bulb already. White, blue, or green fuzzy patches signal that the bulb sat in damp conditions too long. These bulbs can spread disease to your soil so toss them in the trash rather than compost to keep spores away.
A healthy bulb should feel heavy for its size when you pick it up in your hand. Light bulbs have lost moisture or had their inner layers dry out from poor storage. Give each bulb a gentle squeeze and a slight shake to check for loose rattling parts inside that signal damage.
When I first started buying bulbs, I grabbed any bag that looked good on the shelf without checking inside. That first year taught me to always inspect before buying when the store allows you to open bags. A few rotten bulbs mixed in with healthy ones can ruin your whole planting area if you miss them.
Read the full article: When to Plant Bulbs for Spring Blooms
