flowers from Teddy

well usually you water containers of growing plants until it drains. since the bulb isnt exaclty grown yet, you shouldnt do that. just a bit of water around the bulb is fine. and you left the top 1/3 (neck at least) or so out of the soil right?
you can try leaving it on the stove, it shouldnt do any harm, the amaryllis wont be too fussy.

Yes, I left the 1/3 out of the soil, I decided to put them back in the window, it is going to be a sunny day, high in the low 60's so they should like that. I also gave them a very LITTLE water. Now time to leave them alone again. One thing I am confused about, one person says to water from the bottom, one other says water from the top, which is the correct way? This morning I just put a little on the top away from the bulb. The bulbs these people have in the videos I watched are HUGE!!!! They can make 3 of mine, where do they get bulbs that big? Mine are not nearly that big, mine look like a small onion. Other than buying one that big, I have never seen one that big!

Either way is correct for watering these. You just don't want water to sit on the leaves once you get them.

ok, thank you. If I ever get them!;)

You just need some...there's that word again! LOL

That is a BAD word to use for me, got a question, have you ever heard of anyone growing amaryllis in water? I have seen some videos that say it can be done, I was thinking of going over to the neighbors and getting another bulb and trying it, it could be fun, wish me luck!

It does work but I use distilled water, as opposed to tap. You get lots of mineral build-up on the bulbs if you don't.

I use bottled water is that okay? Does it grow faster than with potting soil? I never heard of planting bulbs in water before, but since I am not going to buy the bulb, it is free, I think it will be a great experiment, don't you?

certain bulbs like that can be grown in water. just remember, the water shouldnt be higher than the bottom of the bulb. you use rocks/pebbles to support the bulb. yes amaryllis bulbs are huge, usually biggest from mail-order co. but you can find a large one at nurseries for like $10 a bulb. -- i personally like growing them in soil. paperwhites are easier in pebbles and water because the bulbs are smaller. i suggest (if you want to try the water) buy another bulb, dont use the one already in the soil. -- it is safest to use bottled water, but i never had to worry about that in new york, the tap water is one of the best in the world :)

easytogrowbulbs.com you should check it out, there are videos on amaryllis planting. look at the amaryllis they have for sale, they are beautiful. and youre also going to see how big they sell their bulbs. i meant to tell you before but i kept forgetting :p

thanks, I got one and it is in the water, it already had some roots so hopefully it will grow.

It will be interesting to see which one grows the fastest, the one in water, or the three in potting soil. Here is a pic of the one in water.

None of my Amaryllis bulbs are ever that big, mine are all small, I even think it has grown a few more roots since yesterday! I had a little trouble trying to get the roots in the water without getting the bulb wet! I have most if the roots in water and I hope that this experiment works.

you did good on prepping the bulbs new home. it looks like itll give good support for the flower stalk and plus its so much prettier in a vase. also now you can watch the roots grow....without pulling it out of the soil- lol :)
curious: where did you get your amaryllis?

I had it in the ground between the Irises, and a friend gave me some more Irises that I planted today, he said that is when you are supposed to plant them, he said they were purple, I told him that is what my neighbor said and he said these WILL be purple. We will see. I was digging a hole for the Irises and saw something white down in the dirt, do you suppose that the Amaryllis spread that fast? I did not dig it up I left it where it was, and just planted the Iris in front of it. It is kind of interesting to see the roots actually grow! I do believe that the roots are growing more each day, how much light should I put on them when they are in water? Would the lamp that I had on the others be ok? I never tried to grow anything hydroponically so it is all new to me. Any advice will be appreciated.

i love irises, cant wait for you to get blooms. hm, the white thing could be from another plant. bulbs dont spread until the next growth cycle. while they are growing/flowering the new bulbs form attached to the mother.


in the water they need the same attention as the potted ones. only you dont have to worry about watering as much. just give them the same light/warmth as the potted one. ive never done bulbs in water except for a single paperwhite bulb. but i personally prefer soil. OH and after the bulb ( the one in water) grows and goes dormant, the best thing to do is plant them in soil/outside to rejuvenate. it is said that they might not flower or grow at all again, after forcing in water. this is because it is quite stressful on the bulb. but really, you can nurture the bulb in soil the next year so it can restore lost nutrients.


i didnt know you planted some outside.i was wondering what zone youre in because amaryllis needs mild climates...zone? perhaps its a belladonna amaryllis which are hardier (im thinking that your friend successfully grew them before)?

As far as I know we are in zone 6, and yes, my friend grew them successfully before. I was going to put it in soil after it grew and bloomed if it does bloom. The bulb was firm and had no mushy places on it. I just put water in the vase and put the bulb in it, it was the smallest vase I had, a friend had a bigger vase, but the bulb was too smalll for that one. So if I put them in the window when it is sunny, that would be a good idea? My MG is really taking off now, it really looks good in the window. It also had a few roots on it already, not very long ones, but there were roots anyway. Would that give it a good start?

yes. warmth and natural sunlight are a plants best friend next to water. did you plant any other bulbs out in the garden along with your irises?

Did the instructions mention anything about adding a small amount of soluble fertilizer to the water?

no, I did not plant anything else but the Irises, and I don't remember them saying anything about soluble fertilizer to the water.I don't think you can add any Miracle-Gro plant food like I got to the water can you?

I asked, because amaryllis do not need to be fertilized during this time...but will need a good feeding after they bloom, when they are again planted in soil.

I took this one out of the ground and planted it in the potting soil, the one that was in there was the one I put it in water. It had started to sprout, do you think it will continue to grow, or did I do a bad thing? I will take a pic to show you and maybe you can tell me whether it will grow or not.

it should be fine. it will continue to grow and the roots will re-establish in the new soil. it wont need any special care, just treat it like the other bulb. it should grow because its still alive. the leaves coming out are a good sign. thats what alot of bulbs do, grow leaves before roots.

but it won't bloom this year?

oh yes, it should. i didnt mean to be so vague. and sometimes amaryllis can surprise you with blooms. like when i grew one indoors, it first sent up a stalk and had four flowers. then there was a second one with another four. then finally one with three flowers. that bulb. by the way, was huge. it fit tightly in an 8" pot. sadly.......unfortunately.....it chokes me up to say....it remained outside - out of the ground- that winter, and got buried in snow. in spring it was nothing but a brittle piece of plant matter.

Here is a pic of the roots on the Amaryllis that is in the vase, like I said before I think it has grown more since I put it in there. What do you think?

yes, its growing some nice roots. try not to let the actual bulb be in the water. (im saying this because it looked somewhat wet but i could be wrong right?) its ok for some roots (once theres alot grown) to be out of the water, because they will help the plant ''breathe''.
youre doing good with your plant babies :) your amaryllis adventure re-woke up my love for the plant so im going to plant a bed sometime, once i can buy a dozen or so.

I am trying to do the right thing by them, but it is hard not to pick them up and look to see how long the roots are. At least with the one in the vase I can see without taking it out. I am glad I was able to re awaken your love for the amaryllis, it is a beautiful plant and if mine do what I want them to do, I will have several plants to marval at! You were right about the bulb, I had to move it a little, some of the basal plate WAS in the water, but I adjusted it. The only bad thing about living in a smalll house like mine is no matter how many plants you have started, you have to figure out where you are going to put them when they bloom, you are probably going to get really tired of me posting pictures when they start growing so you can see something going on. Right now it looks like they are just sitting there,

I thought I would add a little more heat to the mix, so I turned on the other light here is the picture, what do you think of my set up? Any suggestions would be helpful.

it looks good. if its convenient for you, you can get a grow light. they will provide more effecient light for growth and you might even be able to turn off the other sources of light your currently using. but if thats not possible, your original setup will be fine. by the way, great re-using/recycling!

Thank you, the only one that I am going to be worried about is the little green one, it is awful small to have a plant that grows as tall as they do in it. But I figured it would be good to reuse these bowls for something good, as for the lights, is there a certain amount of light that the bulbs need? I mean like about 6 or 8 hrs? If I can do it that way it would not be that bad on electricity. A grow light would be better I agree, but right now that is not possible but I think what I am doing is okay. Thank you for your advice and help.

It is supposed to be in the 60's for the next few days, would it be a good idea to put the bowls with the bulbs in them outside for a while? I know they like sunshine and probably air too, I try to give them light and warmth with the lights but nothing beats the actual sunshine. I would put them in the window but like I said I think they would like it outside. What is your opinion?

Yes! that is a great idea. they will benefit from it. since they havent grown leaves, it is good because they wont get shocked from the change in environment. but a definite yes. if it should get near freezing then you might want to bring them in. otherwise leave them outside for as long as the weather allows. its better in many ways. and you wont have to worry about lighting. since you use artificial lighting indoors, you need to provide more intense light for a long duration just to replicate sunshine.

I thought that it might be a good idea, so I will wait until it warms up just a little more and then will take them out. I am not sure what the temps are going to be at night so I think I will bring them in at night, I don't want some stray raccoon thinking that the bulbs are a midnite snack!

I took my bulbs outside, hopefully the squirrels won't bother them, I have them on a chair in the sunlight. The one in water I put in the windowsill next to the MG which is doing well, so we will see what happens.

I don't know if I asked this question or not, if the Amaryllis bloomed this summer, can you get it to bloom this winter? My one neighbor said that they are dormant in the winter and bloom in the summer. I hope he is wrong, I have read that they go dormant naturally and re-bloom sometime in the winter, is that true? When it gets too cold to put them outside and the windowsill is too cold, will my light set up do just as well? I would dearly love to prove him wrong! He is one of those people who think they are always right, I would love to show him that he is wrong on this subject. I have the 3 in potting soil and they did bloom this summer, the one with a little green on it has not bloomed at all yet, so is it possible that any of them are going to bloom this winter?

Some of mine bloom in summer but they all bloom in winter without fail.

A friend of ours put a storm window over the outside of the window where I am putting my bulbs, will that make it warm enough to put them there when it is too cold for them outside? By the way Pirl, that one on the right is BEAUTIFUL! What color do you call that?

great picture pirl! it looks like appleblossom (variety)? i dont know if the storm window will do anything much. perhaps it will help out with blocking out the cold. remember its ok if the temps are cool while its flowering, it lasts longer. and try not to go from outside to inside constantly, it will confuse the plant. amaryllis grow year-round here - so take pirl's word on the blooming time. besides, once you see growth then theyre getting ready for a bloom. YES! prove your neighbor wrong!

You're right coastal - it's Appleblossom.