Botrytis blight on tulips (tulip fire)

Tulip fire -- the common name for Botrytis blight of tulips -- produces exactly the appearance the name suggests: scorched, withered leaves and flowers as if the plant has been touched by flame. It is the most destructive disease of tulips, historically responsible for large losses in commercial.

Tulip fire — the common name for Botrytis blight of tulips — produces exactly the appearance the name suggests: scorched, withered leaves and flowers as if the plant has been touched by flame. It is the most destructive disease of tulips, historically responsible for large losses in commercial bulb production and a consistent problem for home gardeners in cool, wet climates.

I grow daffodils rather than tulips at my Long Island property (deer pressure and the multi-year replanting cycle for good tulip performance have kept me away from them), so this guide draws on University Extension research and Royal Horticultural Society publications.

The pathogen

Tulip fire is caused by Botrytis tulipae, a host-specific species distinct from the generalist B. cinerea. Per RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), B. tulipae infects only tulips and a few closely related bulb genera. The fungus produces sclerotia that adhere to infected bulb surfaces and persist in soil; it also produces abundant airborne spores from sporulating infected tissue.

Per Cornell Cooperative Extension, the disease cycle begins with infected bulbs — either visible as lesions on the outer scales or invisible as latent infections — introduced to a planting site. Once established, the disease spreads rapidly through spore dispersal to neighboring plants.