Amaryllis is growing

That is a very interesting way to hide a ugly stump, and your bloom is going to be beautiful. Unfortunately, mine won't bloom for a couple of months yet. But they are going to bloom and they will be pink and very tall, I think I will put them in the ground after the last frost date and watch them grow. I have a spot picked out for the rest of the purple Morning Glories, they will be planted on the outside of the back fence where they will get more sunshine than the red ones got, mkaybe this year the blue ones will come up don't know yet. There was one plant that got started a little too late and got killed hopefully the others will come up in time to bloom for me.

Teddy. It would not be beneficial to the amaryllis to move it outside too soon. They pretty much prefer at least 75 degree weather. I would wait until maybe June before planting the ones from inside out in the garden. Below is a link that explains "hardening off", a process of moving plants from indoors to outdoors.

http://coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Garden/harden.htm

http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2003/fs0371.pdf

thanks themoonhowl,I am going to wait until it gets a LOT warmer outside. With this odd weather we have been having, it is hard to keep the same temps inside when the outside weather is either too warm or cold. Which this winter it has not gotten too cold. It is doing quite well and I am proud of it. The leaves are pretty and they sway a little in the breeze created by the ceiling fan, we have it on to move the heat around from the pellet stove. I was trying to figure out which would be better, taking it out of the pot or leaving it in there. If I leave it in the pot, I can dig it up in the fall and bring it inside, if not would it die out in the garden since we are in zone 6?

Amaryllis are reliably outdoor hardy in zones 9 to 11. Some of them survive winters outdoors in zone 7b. You are zone 6. You will need to bring them indoors for winter.

http://www.americanmeadows.com/amaryllis-instructions

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/diggin-it/2011/0302/Growing-amaryllis-outdoors

Sinking the pot in the ground will make it easier to dig up for the winter, but if you prefer to plant it directly in the garden you can still dig it up and bring it in for the winter.

guuess it would be better to leave them in the pots then. You do realize these are Amaryllis Belledonna or Naked Ladies don't you? Was not sure if you remembered that.

welcome back ecrane, did you have a nice holiday? We had a quiet one, did not go anywhere and no one came over, so it was quiet and nice.

I did have a nice holiday--went to Cleveland to visit family. Luckily it didn't start snowing until the day I was heading back!

Now we wait for next year! Well now the flower bud opened to reveal a Redish orange flower unlike the pink Color 'Susan' is expected to be. Ill post a pic.

Here is a photo of the blossom.

Teddy I have what I call naked ladies/surprise lilies. They stay out all winter in zone 5 and do just fine. Unfortunately I don't know much and they may not be the same plant.
Moon will know if they are the same thing or not, I gave her some.

There are some other things that go by the name naked ladies--the ones that I remember seeing when I was growing up in Ohio were Lycoris squamigera http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/517/ which are hardy in zone 5.

Yep that's the one I have ecrane.

That's the one I have, naked ladies and these are in the ground all year long and they do grow. I just thought that I would try to grow one inside and I think it is a success. Will be interesting to see the flower stem, I think I will plant it outside when it is warm enough and then that way I can enjoy them when they come up.

They do look beautiful...

I have some naked ladies in zone 5 that I received in a trade. This past spring they leafed out, and the leaves died back, as they should. They did not bloom in the summer/fall. I was told that I may have to wait a season or two for a bloom.

They are on an internal "bulb" schedule, and dividing them and replanting them may knock them out of their normal pattern of growth. Mine came from Sacramento, so Pittsburgh is a real "jolt" for their internal clock. I suppose?

Judy

Yes, Lycoris can be quite resentful about being disturbed, Judy. I have L aurea and some of them take a season off from blooming now and then. A friend sent me a bunch of the pink ones, L squamigera this past fall, so will be interesting to see if they bloom this year or take a break.

http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Lycoris

Hi everyone. I hope you don't mind me jumping in. This is my first experience with amaryllis and I've been learning a lot following your thread. I have some Hippeastrum amaryllis. This is my "red lion". I have an "apple blossom" ready to pop too. I didn't even know about amaryllis before, let alone how many there were. Very nice flower Teddy!

Wonderful flowers Ironworker! As you may have seen earlier in this thread, I had an amaryllis 'Susan' growing and flowering. However, it was only my second go at amaryllis. The first plant I owned rotted, and it didn't even flower! It only produced leaves. However, I wish you luck on your journey through the world of amaryllis. There may be problems you encounter, but try to just push past them. Everyone on this thread was very helpful, and they will work with you to solve problems for you. Good luck!

The leaves on my Naked Lady plant are dying, how long after they die does the stem come up? I am glad I took pictures of the leaves as they grew, it kind of looks sad with them turning yellow and drooping when they were so proud looking a few days ago, maybe I am a softy, I don't like to see anything die especially when I worked so hard to get them to grow, the other two are doing well, not as tall as this one but they are growing. I have more patience now with them since I grew the first one. Will take a picture of the first one when they come up with the flower.

Out in the garden, mine die back in late April/early May and then start putting up bloom spikes in September/October. I do not know how long it will take them in pots.

Thanks for the compliment Bloomfly! I had to look in the plantfiles for your "susan". It looks a lot like my "apple blossom", but with much more color. I'd like to add it to my collection someday. I wasn't aware there were THAT many amaryllis! I almost gave up looking! I hope it makes it for you, its a great amaryllis. Anyone looking for tips or ideas on these or "paperwhites" should check out- P. Allen Smith. Com. He's got some neat ideas for these flowers instead of the old plastic or clay pots and soil. I just have to throw in a pic of my "a. b." too. Good luck everyone.

You both should check out today's DG article on Amaryllis on the home page.

Your welcome ironworker! I must say though that the actual color of the amaryllis's flower was a reddish color. The shade of pink that 'apple blossom' has is stunning. Here's the color of my bulb.

Here's the flower of my bulb. And thanks themoonhowl!

Thanks Moonhowl, I did happen to catch that last night and was going to post that today myself. And thanks again to you Bloomfly. Your Susan does look quite a bit different than the photo but is still quite a nice flower. There are so many different shades available its hard to say if it was mismarked or if that is what it truly is. Have to wait for next years blooms huh. Still a beautiful winter flower.

You are both quite welcome. There is a wealth of info out there. You just have to kinda sift through it to get what you need.

I agree. And yes, the flower's shade was different. I don't know why, but if it was misnamed, its off to the identification forum. If its just a color variation, I still like it. Oh and anyone noticed, i clipped the anthers off. I intend on getting seed from it. I have a link to my amaryllis seed forum if you have any tips. Thanks. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1237024/

I agree Moonhowl. I've read so much stuff that its hard to keep it all straight! I believe I've got the basics in order though. The real test is going to come when I put these things into dormancy for next years blooms. I know there are conflicting opinions on the subject, but I'd like to have Christmas flowers next year and the homepage article gave pretty good timelines for that.

I'll make sure to follow your seed forum Bloomfly and pass along any good info I come across. I'm kind of interested in doing the same so I hope it all works out for you. I lucked out and got a bulblet from my apple blossom which has doubled in size and doing quite nicely. Good luck.

Best of luck to you both.

I found nothing yet. The only changes is in the pods. They have swollen to about the same width as a dime. The leaves still haven't popped out, is this bad? The flowers died, and the seeds are forming.

Teddy,
Did you post flowers of your plant?

Belle

My plant is not the Amaryllis that you can bloom for the holidays, mine are Naked Ladies which do not come up until spring, right now the leaves are dying so it does not look that good. One of the other ones that have the leaves is starting to grow up now, so will put pictures of it as it grows. I was mixed up when I got these, and thought they were the ones that you could grow inside for the holidays if you forced them, but I was wrong, I will post pics of my Naked Lady blooms when it does, which will not be for a while. I have no idea how long after the leaves have died that the flower stem arrives, but you can be sure that I will post pics to share with all of you.

typically, the bulb grows its leaves in spring and dies like daffodils. then in mid-late summer it blooms. in warmer climates blooms usually in cooler season than summer.

I do not know if you know this, but amaryllis does not have to go dormant. Cybister varieties shouldn't even be allowed to go dormant. I heard of many people who have successfully grown the amaryllis bulbs, such as the ones we own, without a dormant period. The bulbs would bloom strongly each year.

do the amaryllis grow year-round where you are Bloomfly? im guessing they do in beautiful Cali. just wondering if thats what you meant. sometimes they fail to bloom here because they keep growing leaves year-round, so the University of Florida suggests interrupting their growth by replanting in fall.

I'm not even sure they will live outside in the high desert. I have heard that the bulbs put through year-round growth usually flower in spring, or when put to the first growing cycle. The bulbs should produce blooms when they are ready, coastal. Amaryllis do NOT require a dormant period.

I've gathered the same thing from what I've read Bloomfly. The only real reason for dormancy is to shoot for a specific bloom date. Most people want Christmas blooms.
So...how are you coming on your seed pods? I've been looking for more info for you, but most of it is general and not much help. I did come across a company that deals solely in amaryllis and seems like a good source for possible answers and they have quite a selection if anyone is looking to purchase. They carry rare varieties, but I want a little more experience before I take any chances with the expensive ones. I will keep looking because I want to try it myself...if I get seeds that is!
Here is the site link:

http://www.amaryllis.com/pac.htm

Thanks! The seed pods are growing quite rapidly. I don't know when they will ripen, but the pods so far are healthy and green, with no sign of dying. I will try to post a picture of them soon.

Bloomfly, I think I hit the jackpot with this one! Everything we need to know about Amaryllis...and experts to ask for anything else in the discussion forum. Pictures, videos, links, etc. Hope you get as much from it as I did. Wish I had seeds!
And yes, I'd like to see how your seed pods are coming along when you get to it.

Here's the link:
http://www.amaryllisbulbs.org/2009/01/sowing-germinating-amaryllis-seeds.html