There is no such thing as "TRYING" not to water. Just do not water even if the soil surface appears dry. The roots go down, not up, so there is no reason to water from the top or just because it appears dry. You have given the bulb notice to grow by watering so now let it grow.
Here is a photo of the window and the amaryllises: some are hidden by the pelargonium (zonal geranium) that just came back inside.
If I had that many flower pots in the window my hubby would disown me! Our window is not that big, I was wondering, if I leave them in the window and put the heating pad under them would that get them going? i don't see any kind of bottom heating in your window, but your bulbs are twice as big as mine, I also see some of them have already started to sprout, I looked at the one in the water and it has not grown any more roots that I can see. I will just forget about them and see what happens, you are a paramount of patience with me, most people would just say forget it and not talk to me again. But you are so nice and so are the others that help me.
If you put the heating pad under them it just might move them along but if you do it do not remove it after a few hours or a few days - not until you see it growing.
When I didn't know how important size was I was happy with any amaryllis. Then I learned that the bigger the bulb, the more stalks, the more flowers. I no longer buy locally but only order online. CZP gave a great link to easytogrowbulbs.com and they seem to be enormous.
If we didn't have plants in the window it would look too bare and too bleak on the overcast days.
My husband and I love plants and watching the amaryllis grow in the kitchen window is joy for us. We have an 11' window in the master bedroom filled with plants and another 5' bay window in there that is also filled with plants. In the guest room there's another 5' bay window filled to capacity and on the indoor porch we have the whole room filled with plants and five huge windows and a glass door - all with plants. It makes our home a more cheerful place in winter. Amazingly enough we have two box bay windows in the kitchen, each 4' wide, without any plants but there are some cuttings of coleus in one of those spots.
I have them on the windowsill, do you think it would be okay to put the heating pad under them there? I really don't want to move them away from the sunshine, when it isn't cloudy. I don't think I could put the one in the vase on there right?
You can put them on a heating pad at the window. Read the first sentence of my previous post.
I wouldn't put the vase there for fear it will be knocked over.
I know, I know, I have to be reminded from time to time, my memory is about as long as my little finger, and that aint very long;) You sure have a lot of pots, I don't have that much window space, heck I don't have that many windows! So I will put the heating pad under them and see what happens! Wish me luck!
Good luck.
cant wait for your blooms teddy.
pirl, does your amaryllis bloom continuously in summer? or does it have periods of blooms followed by dormancy?> i was curious from when you said before that you ''put them to sleep"
A few bloom once in summer - strangely enough all that bloom do so between July 16th and 20th. I put them to sleep when I have the time and space for them so I was late this year and only got to it October 5th. I should have done it in August or September at the latest. Sometimes life gets in the way of our best plans.
I couldn't use the heating pad on the windowsill, it was king size, so I put the bulbs back on the bookcase on top of the heating pad. It is on the lowest setting there is and I have a 75 watt lamp above them.Here is the picture, would a 60 watt bulb be alright to use?
I seriously doubt the light will make them grow as well as light at the window.
I agree, I'd go for the window even if it means going without the heating pad. That lamp is WAY too far away to do the plant any good, and even if it was closer the window would still be better. I don't grow amaryllis myself but I know people who grow them indoors and don't use heating pads and they do just fine.
They are back in the window and the heating pad is put away, I thought it would give them a boost, but I will settle for the window and PATIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ecrane is right.
Patient or not it's Mother Nature who will determine if it will grow and bloom. It has been through a lot with constant changes and mixed signals.
Don't know if I will try this again next winter, I at least got my Morning Glory to grow, if it blooms I will be partly happy. If the bulbs grow and bloom I will be ecstatic! I don't think I have the patience to do this.
I over ordered 2 years ago and had amaryllis in our sun room and when one bloomed DH brought it on the Kitchen table.
My hair dresser plants all her amaryllis outside and in spring and summer she has hundreds of different amaryllis blooming. It is a sight!!!
I planted all my bulbs outside and if I lose them then I will not order again.
As far as plants in the window sill, we had our kitchen window sill redone with a bay and DH arranges them, he is very particular about how they look.
Belle
It's so nice to hear! Why shouldn't men love beautiful plants?
I've known quite a few women who refused to be "bothered" with plants but their husbands made it their hobby and they enjoy it so much. The joy of gardening isn't sexually exclusive to women - just look at the banner on this page. It's Dave's Garden.
While I did the actual hybridizing of the daylilies it was my husband, Jack, who raised the 1,364 seeds under lights and grew them.
holy canoli pirl, thats amazing! wow, it must be sso exciting to be you, waiting to see what curious daylilies youll get! just seeing the grow light set up is exciting!
Pirl,
What are you going to do with all those daylillies?
Belle
I only hybridized daylilies for a few years. Planting them outside was an experience and then finding space to transplant them as they grew. We gave many carloads of them, and other plants, to neighbors and friends. We did that for a few years and next year many will just go to the curb as they bloom. They are all aside from all I bought.
There are many other gardens besides these.
Many boxes went to homes on both coasts (and many states in between as well as to a dear friend in Pakistan) and many cars, like this one, were filled repeatedly.
Just one of my favorites:
Oh my!!! It s a full time job!!! I bet it is pretty when they are in bloom!!!
Belle
Thanks. Though many are gone and we have just a few hundred left to enjoy, just gardening is a full time job and keeping up with the photos is a good winter job and one I enjoy while the snow falls.
The bay window shown here is in the master bedroom and the windows and door to the left are on the indoor porch.
theyre gorgeous! so about how many years does the new seedling plant take before it can put out those wonderful blooms (given optimal care)?
Three years. They have been worth the wait.
Thanks, CZP.
I get obssessive with 4 bulbs, can you imagine what I would be like waiting for seedlings? My hubby would kill me! The soil is awfull dry around the bulbs, what should I do pirl?
If you husband killed you then you wouldn't have to wait for blooms from seedlings.
You have given the bulbs a wake up call, as we have discussed quite often, so do nothing - ignore them - leave them alone. It's not the moisture in the soil that will make it grow. It's the hormones within the bulb.
Remember - too much water (anything more than two waterings before they begin to grow) can lead to rot. Do you want them to rot?
Please listen to pirl on the watering, she has obviously grown lots of these successfully and knows what she's talking about and has mentioned several times that you shouldn't water them after that initial watering to wake them up. It's very easy to kill a plant by giving it too much love, so resist your urge to do something for it and just leave it alone and let it do its thing. Until it starts to grow, it can't do anything with the water you give it so all that's going to happen is it'll rot.
Thanks for the support, Ecrane!
Always listen to Pirl and Moonhowl. They really know their stuff.
You guys should have seen the photos of Pirls garden when it was chosen to be toured. It was beautiful.
I planted about 150 of Pirl's day lilies. Her "Yankee" day lilies do great down here in Louisiana. I had several that bloomed twice this year.
What a sweetie you are, Jim! Thanks for the compliments.
Here's one just for you:
Thank you kindly, Jim. Good to see you. Best regards to you and Jo.
Pirl, beautiful gardens as always.If Teddy listens to anyone about Amaryllis growing, it should be you....not only do you have the experience, you have the beautiful blooms as proof.
Teddy, I would suggest that you get a notebook and write down all the good info folks share with you. That way you have a reference to go to for reassurance.
Jim how are the Dragon Lore DL's doing?
Good idea, thanks for the suggestion, I have gotten a cold from my hubby so not very energetic now, but I think I can do the notebook thing. Thanks again pirl and all my Dave's Garden friends.
While not as biiig as pirl's, here is my little window garden as you can see, not much space for the heating pad. But there is quite a bit of sunshine that comes in that window. But I thought I would share that with you.
I did have to change the water in my vase, rinsed it out and put tepid water in it, and put the water up to the mark and it is sunny today and the storm window that our friend put up as stopped the cold air from coming in. So the heat from the sun should help out little friends start growing.
I have my Geraniums in the kitchen for the winter, should I water them at all or not?
Very seldom. I brought mine in last week and they will get water once a month and NOT a lot of water. You're just trying to keep them alive and not trying to actually make them grow. Spring is the time for growth, not the dark days of winter, so do not even think of feeding them until April. It will NOT matter how dry the top of the soil appears so do not be concerned. Leaves may dry up so you can remove them.
Pirl, you said in one of your posts that when the bulbs start to show growth, you need to water them twice then none until you see the color of the bud, the one in the small container shows growth, should I water it any? I did what you suggested I got a notebook and jotted down what you and some of the other ones have said, I also put your names beside what they said and wrote down and have it in a special notebook just for them.
Please post a photo of it.
