Like last year I bought enough of certain "named" Tulips to plant in front garden and in containers on back deck. No problem in either place last year...grew and bloomed. This year particular "name" isn't coming up in either ground or containers. While looking up names of tulips I remembered that last year I bought ALL Darwin Hybrids. Late last summer when ordering I read on web sites that Triumphs did better in containers than others so I bought them from Scheepers. I had 3 named Triumph Tulips: Spryng, Jan Ohms & King's Orange. 'King's Orange' foliage seems mostly to have come up in containers & in ground. 'Spryng" has pathetic foliage nubs sticking above soil in containers with a few larger sized nubs growing in ground. 'Jan Ohms' has nothing in containers with some nubs up in ground. Of course, this was delicate color to which I was really looking forward. They were all planted in late September with enough time to grow roots. This year I even further improved drainage in both container mix and in bed where they went into ground for better drainage. Although all Tulips grew/bloomed fine last year they were rotted in ground by Fall when I checked them so were replaced. Ones in containers were rotted by the time I took them out in June to replace with annuals. Daffodils that were mixed in same containers with Tulips were removed & stored in June and ground planted in Fall. They're fine and just started to bloom last week. I'm wondering about bulbs shipped last Fall or something to do with Holland crop since even Hyacinths & Iris Reticulata from Scheepers aren't doing great. Hyacinth blooms are very sparse on 3 colors and Iris blooms lasted 2-3 days. This theory probably won't hold up as I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of people who planted Dutch and/or Scheepers bulbs that had no problem. The container bulbs were up on deck under overhang all winter (like last year) until one sizable snow in early March when they got few inches of snow blown on top of them. I didn't clear it off figuring they hadn't had much, if any, moisture over winter. If that is what rotted bulbs in containers why didn't all 3 "names" rot or why did same "name" not produce in ground either right next to other "name" that did grow? Next year I'm going back to all Darwin Hybrids although it's probably some specific set of events that I can't see or blame for this year's poor showing. Maybe nothing more than letting 6 inches of snow melt into containers early March but that wouldn't explain why same named Tulips didn't perform in ground. Mysteries of gardening life. I'm just treating Tulips as annuals from now on even when planted in ground.

Hoosier covered several of the problems including the fruit left on the vine too long. I also see some anthracnose and sour rot. Also some possible Alternaria Canker but no close up to be sure. Research these on the web to learn all about controls and preventing them next year. Also contact your local county extension for info on which diseases are common in your area and treatment tips. Bottom line - you have at least a couple if not more, fungal infections going in the patch. The only solution at this late date is to try to slow it down with fungicide sprays like Daconil - multiple applications. It won't cure the problems but will slow it down. I know on another thread you posted you were opposed to anti-fungal sprays but they are your only real option now I fear and not nearly as hazardous as you think. Otherwise, about all you can do is pick your fruit just as soon as it shows the slightest color and ripen it inside, thin out the patch with some pruning of all the diseased material to improve air circulation, eliminate any sprinkler watering, and hope. Just my 2 cents. Next year, a much bigger patch or a lot less plants ;), much soil improvement, and lots and lots of mulch. Hope this helps. Dave

Optomist, Welcome to GardenWeb! CE is right, that is BER (Blossom End Rot). Your plants do look stressed, and that can lead to more BER than you would normally get. How often do you water? Do you feed the tomato plants? What variety of tomato are you growing? Do you know the Days to Maturity for them? DTM is short for Days to Maturity. It is an ESTIMATE of how long it takes to get ripe tomatoes, or any other produce, from the time you transplant the tomato or other plant, or plant the seeds in the garden. If you have long season tomatoes, they may not get ripe for a while. Also ripening is pretty dependent the temperature as the article I have linked below explains. Hope that helps. Betsy Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatoes Not Ripening?

millworkman: Proper installation is a necessity for a great many things. Poorly installed PVC trim can indeed mask other problems, but I have a hard time seeing that as a reason for not using it. Poorly installed wood trim can also mask problems as it rots in places hard to see from the outside. tlbean2004: Do not put PVC or anything else over wood. All that does is create a place for water to collect between two different materials. PVC is designed to be used alone as a replacement for wood. Will you ever have to replace it? Never is a very long time, but given correct installation, PVC trim will last much longer than wood. If your rot problems, however, were the result of improperly installed drip edge, etc., you may get good long life with wood once the problems are corrected. Rot resistant wood such as cedar or pressure treated is a good idea, but proper priming of all surfaces before installation is also very important.