Lilies: Root rot in Stargazer lilies, 1 by cinemike

cinemike wrote:
Hi,
Although I generally grow plants from seed, I decided to buy some lily bulbs to give me patio tubs some class this year. 15 bulbs bought nine put in one large tub which I filled with three layers of compost. Drainage grit in the base - tested, works fine. Then two 4" layers of 4:3:2:1 Peat: sand:grit: vermicompost with added wood ash. Bulbs planted on lower layer, then top layer of mainly peat-based compost with added fertiliser about 3". Planted nine bulbs in a 30" x 18" tub and the other 6 in two adjacent tubs. That was about five weeks ago.

Six of the first lot have come up well. The rest are nowhere to be seen. I, gingerly, investigated a couple of the no-show bulbs and find that they have root rot. There is no sign of water-logging in the compost. But most of their roots have turned to mush. Both investigated bulbs have started to sprout the main stem, but seem to have been stopped in their tracks.

I have never encountered this before. Is there a treatment?