I forgot to say the three parts of the bud are showing and the largest is begining to open. Looks like tomorrow is going to be the full open of the first part. Looking at the back of the flower pedals it appears to not be a deep red. Will have to wait for it to open and show it's beauty.
Amaryllis thread part 2
Doc, I look at your link for ARBICO , I just might order the Kelp meal for my vegetable garden, right now I'm holding off, my credit card is starting to get limp from over use this month. LOL And it is too early to think about outside gardening anyways. Hoping to get some sugar snap peas in next month.
Looking forward to pictures of your amaryllis bloom.
In Doc's link--
Would anyone here (local to here) like to go in on that 55lb. bag of Kelp Meal?
If three of us were interested--each would get 18lbs of kelp Meal for about $30-$35.
I am sure there is some shipping fees involved.
Two of us interested--would get 27+ lbs of kelp for $45....
Sally? Judy? Jill? Holly? ....Gita
Doc--How is it shipped? How much would it run for shipping?
Gita, No thanks, trying to save money now. Thanks for offering.
They have a tole free phone number. How in the world would I know? I purchase stuff like that locally. We have a high percentage of organic growers here. The organic demand supports two retail outlets that I am aware of. There has to be more I do not know about. Now that you are thinking organic understand that you need less because it does not leach away. It stays put and in most cases is still working to help your soil as much as three years after the application. I never learned for sure how that works so I personally figure my plants use a third of what I put down the first year. By using less the second year I can still be aproximately equal to what I put in the year before. Each year you gain a little in your soil building project. Your other mulches and compost add to the total and things just keep getting a little better each year you are getting away from using chemicals that kill you soil biology. Cover crops this comming fall are the anchor to good progress.
Doc, I bookmarked the site. The "natural fly contol" caught my eye. We had flies last year and they were almost like deer flies. In fact I think they were stable flies. They bit me to death as I was trying to mow. I vowed they were going to die this year even if I had to wrap myself in fly strips!
Very cool to be featured in the catalog!
Gita, it's a nice thought, but I too am watching the money. Actually, I'm watching it go to DD :o)
Doc, I used to make enough compost to add to the garden, and every year I turned all the weeds under by hand. The weed seeds didn't seem to be dying, especially the chickweed, so I started being more selective about what I threw in the pile. I use the compost up pretty fast and can tell my garden needs more help.
I can't wait to see blooms everyone!!
Gita, We would get anything like that locally as well.
Yeah, I'm guessing the shipping cost would eat up any savings on purchasing that bulk bag of kelp meal. I wondered when Doc mentioned doing mail order what sort of things he was getting from them, but I'm guessing that heavy bags of amendments are probably one of the things he can get just as well locally.
$49.80 would be the shipping cost to my house, it is UPS that they use for shipping it. You can easily find that out by starting an order and calculating the shipping charges, and stopping at that point. You are not giving out any payment info or CC #'s, not even your name.
Yes I would say that is a big amount to pay for shipping. I mail order a lot. I look for free shipping codes on the internet just type in the name of the company you hope to buy from along with "free shipping coupons" sometimes you get lucky.
I filled out a survey that was e-mailed me from Gardeners Supply, for doing that and being a good coustomer I was offered free shipping for a limited time. I ordered 80 lbs of grow mix for my tomatoes, 6 bags of seed starting mix, and tomato fertilizer that I have used for years. No driving, no gas, no loading the car. If I do drive to get a product, it is at least a 1/2 drive and I'll only got if I have a list of things I need. Not a run for just one item.
Just like any other shopping you need to do some homework to get the better deals.
Our local Ace Hardware will special order anything that in the the Ace Hardware inventory without any special charges. You can go online and look up Ace Hardware and anything you find just call your local store and they will get it for you. Takes about a week depending on when they place their order and there are no extra charges. Ric gets a lot of stuff that way.
Holly!
That is a great idea!!!! I have an Ace at the end of my street--1 mile away....:o)
NO! I do not know of any place locally that I could buy that from....
Years ago--I could buy a 40lb. bag of Kelp Meal at Meyer Seed Co.
Now all they carry id the 4lb.bag--and it costs like $13+.
Besides--the store near me is not doing too well. Sally and I went there a couple of
years ago. We had the same opinion---UGH! bare shelves--old merchandise. etc...
However--the Original Meyer Seed Co. is a BIG, old place in downtown Baltimore.
I believe most of their business IS mail order.....They have been there forever!
You can see their name on the building....
Hmmmm.....Maybe i could ask Meyer Seed if they could order me a big bag???
I could then just pick it up. They are--maybe--3-4 miles from me.
I used to use kelp all the time in my plantings. Even threw a handful or so
in my Composter....No more!!!
Last year, I drove 1/2 hour to a Tractor Supply store--asked them about the Kelp.
Nope! Just bought piles of bird seed....
OK! Time for Dr. Phil.......Ciao! Gita
Here is my second year Amaryllis production. You saw the thirty two thirty three inch upward growth supporting a flower bud nearly as large as my hand. The largest part of the bud is the object of my camera. It is eight inches in diameter. The second is a bit smaller as will be the third part yet to open. The whole flower head is more or less about the size of a soccer ball.
The flower head forming.
Way to go, Doc. Those are some awesome blooms Wonder what one of those would do for seasonal affective disorder! Looks like they would even "glow" in reflected bright moon light. Thanks.
My antenna is up. Word is we are set for and headed for Spring. The Daffs were up three and four inches into the snow cover that melted last week. Now they are under snow again but it can't last long now. I have a couple more Amaryllis that are more to the average one sees. With this bozo Amaryllis and half a dozen smaller ones anyone could have a cure for seasonal affective disorder. I was actually fooled into thinking mower out last week. That's my cure for seasonal affective disorder. My early spring leaks are in pots and up under the snow to. I will soon be able to take a leak off my own patio. Best place in the neighborhood to take a leak. Might be the only place. LOL
Hi Doc. You ain't the only "leaker". My husband does it all the time, and usually on my plants & flowers. They get plenty of nitrogen here. LOL. When my next door neighbors moved in, Bob told the man, "it is so private out here, you can leak off your porch" and now he does it, too. I told Bob not to tell anybody else or we would have a neighborhood full of "leakers." ROTFL
Doc, What a beauty! Well done!
As far as the leaks, no comment. LOL
hehehehehe
Hmm... only thing is, I'd like to make soup out of one of doc's "leaks" LOL!
Ok, here is a pix of a $ 5.00 Amaryllis I got at Walmart. Can't find the tag. Maybe before long, I will find it. Pretty, though. Ok, it's called Minerva. Found the tag.
This message was edited Mar 9, 2011 10:52 AM
So far--among all my 5 pots--I have three bloom buds growing.
All the rest of the growth are leaves.
The stems are about half way up. I need to put stakes around them and support the leaves...soon....
Sadly--they do not get any good light. may be part of the problem...
If I raised all the pots up--somehow--then they would be on even keel with the window.
As it is, they are on a long table below it.
Oh, well......I'll enjoy what I get. Not going to lose any sleep over this.....
G.
Without leaves the stem and top bud formation is almost entirely dependant on energy of the bulb. The amount of light has a bare minimum of effect on the stem and bud. They will lean towards the light but the only green is in the stem not designed to produce more than it takes the stem to lean towards light.
My Paris has bloomed. Just needed me to go away for the entire day. I left the house early Sat morning and when I came home today at noon it had two blooms out. There are two more coming on this stalk and another stalk started.
Gita Ric and I sent you HB wishes on another thread. Sorry we are a day late, with my being gone most of yesterday I didn't notice till this morning that your BD was yesterday. Go look for your BD Thread.
It is very pretty but the stalk is short. I must look it up and see if it is just a short stalked variety.
Beautiful! I liked that one on the website we all looked at.
And still my Zombie sits there unchanged!
This message was edited Mar 6, 2011 7:01 PM
Sally---Don't you get it?????
Zombies are DEAD things! :o)
Gita
I've got a couple amaryllis bulbs that I nearly gave up on, except that they looked firm, had roots, and I could see a hint of green at the "neck" of the bulb... one is finally showing the tiniest tip of a leaf, and the other is suddenly putting up a bloom stalk! Crazy things.
The one that's blooming now for me is 'Siren', and it opened its blooms on this stubby 4 inch stalk. It's not anything I did to it -- it's a new bulb, and it was started under the same conditions as others that bloomed normally. Will have to download its photo from my camera, but it's very similar to the 'Princess' I posted above.
Holly, exquisite!! I love the color!!
Gita, Happy Belated and ROTFL over the zonbie!
Jill it sounds beautiful!
LOL, yes but they rise from the dead unexpectedly--at least I still hope so for this one !
Too funny---everyone!
Sally--your Zombie just may rise in the middle of the night.....
OOOOOOOOOooooooAAAgGGGhhhhhhhhhhhh...BOO!
I never thought I'd be rooting for a Zombie, LOL! But I'm hoping too!
I just cut off the stem that supported the massive flower. The first two true new leaves are beginning to push out. I continue my weekly weekly tea rotation with my watering. We will not get outside with it until the April weather settles into a safe Spring temperature pattern. When outside we continue by setting the bulb in open soil with organic compost and fertilizer feeding. Then we watch the rain and add water to equal an inch a week with our teas too. We let it have the whole safe summer and fall. Take it in ahead of any night time temperature below fifty degrees. The watering and feeding stops immediately. Dead leaves follow and are removed. It gets stored in a fifty degree room for six weeks then brought up and re-potted for next year's bloom.
Excellent plan! I have some that I didn't force into dormancy (just let them keep their leaves, continued to water occasionally once they were inside), and a couple are putting up blooms now -- guess I'd better bring them upstairs! LOL
Strange as it may seem until quite recently I thought these bulbs were difficult to get continued bulb rebuilding and flowering. Now after having had a few years of doing it reasonably correct I wonder why I did not trust my efforts years ago. I find myself tempted to bring in a true mother bulb. I can only imagine what fun a bulb large enough to support five or more stems and flowers would be to watch develop over several years. Put into real time and money scratching two nights of bowling, one dinner for two skipped or overlooking one lobster would cover the bulb and the bloom could be a bonus year after year.
An even easier cover of cost plan. Leave the car keys on the table for just a couple of days. :)
This message was edited Mar 13, 2011 6:44 PM
I 'saved' doc's 'plan'- let's hope I can try to adhere' its only my lack of Focus that makes it hard, not any complexity to the Plan.
Miss Zombie seemed to be yielding so I worried she was in danger. I had not added any water for a couple weeks, figuring if there was nothing happeneing above the soil she couldn't be consuming much and I didn't want to rot her. I was about to pull her out of the pot and check her bottom end but there were nice white roots starting to grow out of the bottom of her pot. So I am guessing she's just thirsty. I watered with a tea and we'll see!
I honestly believe that the home made good alive and jumping biologically alive soil helps these bulbs become even better year after year. If it does it for this bulb guess what it might do for any other underground bulb like food.
Doc, keep growing those bulbs the way you're doing, and you'll get a bulb big enough for 4 or 5 blooms. I've had bulbs go from 1 bloom stalk their first year to 3 the next, after a summer of good care outside.
Go, Zombie, go! LOL
Doc, you've devoted your time and efforts and it has paid off! Plus we get to see your blooms!
I would love to see a Mother Bulb bloom!
Sallyg, I have that ''lack of focus'' too!
Oooh, I hope Miss Zombie awakens!
I wanted to show you the bloom I gave to my friend that was having surgery. I was up at her place last week and got a picture of it. My mothers bulb is also blooming but I haven't been up there to see it and maybe not get there before it is done blooming. She just loves hers.
Doc, Always gives good advice. I think most of my extra $$ is spent on plants Doc.
Charisma
Isn't it fun to give somebody a plant with a bloom as big as your head? LOL
We brought a blooming 'Hercules' amaryllis to a friend of ours for Valentine's Day... it was a jumbo bulb and put up 2 sturdy stems that bloomed at the same time. Looked like it had another stem starting to emerge, also, so hopefully it bloomed some more for them. Thought I had a photo, but can't find it...
But here's a photo of Amaryllis 'Siren', the one I mentioned earlier that I think is pretty much a dead ringer for 'Princess'... I wonder if they're the same variety with 2 different names? I wouldn't wonder that about 2 red amaryllises, but there just aren't that many double varieties.
I'M HOLDING BACK considering the mother sized bulb purchase. I'll reconsider early fall and let the grower do the work this season. If I were to buy one now it would be at it's weakest point in the growing cycle.....or it would be coming out of cold storage dormancy to bloom very late making recovery time to short to do really good with it this summer. This is a case of observation when a bargin may not be a bargin.