Amaryllis

I just put all 4 of my amaryllis in dormancy, I cut the leaves and roots off, and put them in a cool dark place, now how often should I check on them?

I check mine every 3-4 weeks.

thanks tommyr2006, this is the first time mine have survived the summer, every one up till these 4 have died. The last time was to a virus I had never heard of. It was the Mosaic virus. So hopefully these will rebloom for me, will keep you all updated.

I just checked on the amaryllis and one of them look like it can be starting to regrow! It looks like either a leaf or bud, I am not sure, have to wait until it grows a little more to see. I will wait for a while until I put it in the pot to grow some more, so excited!

How much does the amaryllis have to grow before I replant it? You can tell it is growing again, but I don't know if it is too soon to replant it or not, any advice would be helpful.

If you are going to transplant it I would do it sooner rather than wait.
The bulb is also developing new roots, and these could get broken off. Doing the transplanting while the new roots are still small is safer.

Here is the bulb in its new home, I have learned from past years, I am treating this one like a newly purchased one, I put fresh potting soil in the pot, set the bulb firmly into it and put the rest around its shoulders, then I watered it lightly and now comes the hard part. PATIENCE! But I promise I won't bore you with a lot of pictures and posts, I did not label any of them so when they bloom it will be a surprise.

What are these little bugs in the soil of the amaryllis? They are all over the bulb.

There is another growth coming up beside the first one, I can't see enough of it to tell if it is a scape or leaf. The first one looks like a scape, it has the crack in the top, and that is usually how I can tell, these fungus gnats are all over the bulb. I have started to water everything from the bottom, so hopefully they will go away. I don't have any sand to put on the top of the soil, I have some sand from Florida, but I read that if it is from the ocean or any other body of water it will have too much salt in it. So any advice on how to get rid of the gnats would be greatly appreciated.

One of my neighbors has sand that she uses for cactus, she gave me some and I put it around my amaryllis bulb, I will water it from the bottom and see what happens, the gnats are still on the bulb, but here is hoping they will die off pretty soon.

I can't understand why my amaryllis is not growing faster, I planted it because I saw new growth, but it seems to have stalled growing. Can anyone tell me if this is normal for them to do, if so I will quit obsessing about it. The other 3 have not shown any growth yet so they are still in the cool.

The amaryllis is finally showing some new growth, I checked yesterday and I could see light green at the bottom of the bulb! Will be interesting to see what color this one is. Got some of those t markers to identify them.

I am going to repot my amaryllis from last year, there are 3 of them, might do it tonight or tomorrow since I get off earlier. I hope all our veterns had a good day yesterday, and I wish them a long and happy and healthy life and sometimes it is easy to forget what they sacrificed for us to have the freedom that we have, that line is true, all gave some some gave all. To all our Veterans out there I just wanted to say a great big THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Amaryllis need the long leaves or it stresses the plant. Drat, wrong button. Mine bloomed late summer, but with you forcing them that way, they are still grateful. We plant them in our sandy loam to hold the land from washing, and the bulbs get larger than basketballs, plus the new bulbs lay over with interlocking roots and just keep growing. Yours would freeze up there growing outside... the straps(leaves) on mine hit 12' easy. That red is pretty. Bulbs are easy to propagate like an onion... larger bulbs can be cut into 4 or less pieces, leave a bit of heart and a bit of roots, and you will have 4 plants...thread wont let me upload a pic...



This message was edited Nov 12, 2015 7:33 PM

I just planted my other 3 amaryllis bulbs today, I watered them some and now comes the hardest part for me, patience! I inherited my grandmother's green thumb but they forgot to give me patience. Here's hoping they come up well.

There's that button. Here ya go - our ditch lilies, chuckl

Kitt - Your 'ditch lilies' are what I call crinums. Nevertheless, with all the rain we've had, I saw where one of mine (the pinkish one, Ellen B.) was so wet that the bulb was getting soft. I had it in a humongous pot so I pulled it out, think I got most if not all of the thick roots, and brought it inside to dry. Did I do the right thing? And now that it's dried off, what to do? Replant in a different pot? (It was in a planter b/c my ground was too hard to dig.) I know I could ask in the Texas section but we're both here and so I thought I'd ask since I know you are quite familiar with these bulbs. Thanks.

They are crinum amaryllis, yes. Soft is bad, treat it like an onion. You can put it on top of the soil and the rootts will lay over and root. Most folks cut away the soft rot, but just watch and it may firm up. Our sand is fast draining, but mine stood in water awhile this spring. Outdoors, their roots will pull the bulb down so far to firmer ground they quit blooming.

I planted my baby amaryllis today, I will keep you updated as to what happens. Can you tell me how I can tell if there is any new growth?

Dont watch it. Chuckle. Like an onion, the top will start to green up. It will go from nothing to an inch tall overnite when its ready. I will be home in 2days and prowling my flowers. Ummm, you might watch the moon phases and check when the dark of the moon turns slowly back to full, but I doubt it will make a difference...

thanks kittriana, I have never had a baby amaryllis before, so I did not know how to take care of it.

Thanks, Kitt. Too bad I've never grown an onion (love to eat 'em) so the comparison doesn't quite work for me. :D Anyway, think I got the idea/

Bulb onoin. Chuckl. They are a great windowsill winter plant. Can even use it for fresh green shoots. Just set roots on top of a small pot of dirt and mist once in awhile. They like the coolness. Amaryllis like strong light tho, and warmth, tho mine only freeze back after a hard frost.

This is the Red Lion amaryllis, it has really taken off, going to try to find something to use as a support before it gets too tall, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, going to use the same idea(whatever it is) for the leaves of the other amaryllis, so far just the leaves has started to grow. As you can see on the right the leaves are coming up before the stem.

Not a stem- a bloom stalk. They seem to be all leaf til the bloom stalk. If you have a bloom stalk you know there shoyld be a new plant growing out of the root area. Those look good.

These are the amaryllis from last year, they don't seem to be doing anything, but the one that my hubby bought this year is doing great and one of last years is growing leaves. Is there anything I can do to help them grow better? It seems like they are trying to grow leaves but not getting it done. Would it be better if I put the 3 back in the cool and dark for awhile longer?

Do they feel firm? Each blooms at different times, did you dig them up and repot? New dirt, Prob just need light

New potting soil, and they felt firm when I potted them up.

Give em time, long light, and warmth. They should be fine.

thanks kittriana.

Mine are winding down to go dormant for winter. Rain here is chilly, but hasn't been cold enough to do anything but burn the basil.

Update on Red Lion amaryllis and also the one from last year, both are doing quite well as you can see!

I found out one thing that they say is true, when you have amaryllis bulbs indoors they DO dry out in a hurry, so I gave the three that are giving me grief a good drink of warm water, I put the water in the microwave for about 20 seconds and that was luke warm and I won't water again until some time next week. So I also picked up one of them out of the potting soil and it looks like it has started to grow roots, so now won't bother with them for awhile.

I honestly think your over stressing re your bulbs, it appears your examining them every day or two, leave the bulbs alone to get on with what nature intend's and only give water when required, I would lift the Paper White up a fraction from the water, sitting in the water at the base will cause rot, thats for sure.

ALL bulbs are like a store cupboard in as much as, the bulbs already have a food store, have the tiniest of flower buds, leaf points etc all ready to spring into action when the time is right, like temp, soil, good drainage, light etc. nature does all that even before we get the bulbs and plant them either way you choose.

The white / pale colouring is lack of light, thats why when you remove some bulbs from box, paper bag etc, the tiny shoots are always white BUT soon as they get some light, the green natural colour become the true colour of healthy growth because of light, temp, soil type, and water. without these crucial provisions, the bulbs will continue to grow a little more BUT, they will more than likely perish without giving the above requirements.

I have no idea why your plying the plant with Alcohol to reduce the growth to a suitable size, the type of Amaryllis you have are really treated already for indoor growing and are the tall upright type. There are many smaller types of these majestic beautiful flowering bulbs so IF you wart a smaller type, there are many on the market in different colours, HOWEVER, the height of these bulbs depend on the correct light, also you need to give the pot a daily turn so all sides of the plant gets good light, otherwise the bulb will topple over because it reaches the light, by turning the pot, this gives equal light all round.

The same is for the Paper White bulbs, there are smaller types on the market that are every bit lovely without having to administer anything, nature really does know best, we just need to offer what nature cant give the bulbs as the are out of there natural environment or out of soil ect.
Hope this helps you get some insight into how bulbs grow, unlike other plants there roots are the water searching part while other perennial plants have to have good roots to survive and search for natures store cupboard.

Have fun and enjoy your lovely bulbs, try NOT keep moving them from one situation to another as light differers in different rooms and sites. only water when finger in soil indicates the soil is dry and make sure the pots offer plenty drainage' the bulbs dont like their roots when they appear, in water for long periods of time.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

I honestly think your over stressing re your bulbs, it appears your examining them every day or two, leave the bulbs alone to get on with what nature intend's and only give water when required, I would lift the Paper White up a fraction from the water, sitting in the water at the base will cause rot, thats for sure.

ALL bulbs are like a store cupboard in as much as, the bulbs already have a food store, have the tiniest of flower buds, leaf points etc all ready to spring into action when the time is right, like temp, soil, good drainage, light etc. nature does all that even before we get the bulbs and plant them either way you choose.

The white / pale colouring is lack of light, thats why when you remove some bulbs from box, paper bag etc, the tiny shoots are always white BUT soon as they get some light, the green natural colour become the true colour of healthy growth because of light, temp, soil type, and water. without these crucial provisions, the bulbs will continue to grow a little more BUT, they will more than likely perish without giving the above requirements.

I have no idea why your plying the plant with Alcohol to reduce the growth to a suitable size, the type of Amaryllis you have are really treated already for indoor growing and are the tall upright type. There are many smaller types of these majestic beautiful flowering bulbs so IF you wart a smaller type, there are many on the market in different colours, HOWEVER, the height of these bulbs depend on the correct light, also you need to give the pot a daily turn so all sides of the plant gets good light, otherwise the bulb will topple over because it reaches the light, by turning the pot, this gives equal light all round.

The same is for the Paper White bulbs, there are smaller types on the market that are every bit lovely without having to administer anything, nature really does know best, we just need to offer what nature cant give the bulbs as the are out of there natural environment or out of soil ect.
Hope this helps you get some insight into how bulbs grow, unlike other plants there roots are the water searching part while other perennial plants have to have good roots to survive and search for natures store cupboard.

Have fun and enjoy your lovely bulbs, try NOT keep moving them from one situation to another as light differers in different rooms and sites. only water when finger in soil indicates the soil is dry and make sure the pots offer plenty drainage' the bulbs dont like their roots when they appear, in water for long periods of time.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Thank you WeeNel, for your help. it appears that the amaryllis from last year is just going to have leaves and no flower. But the leaves are pretty. The one that is growing a flower stalk has been staked, I actually found one of the stakes from last year, the paperwhites are doing good too, I took your advice and quit moving the amaryllis around, I just make sure it is not leaning and I am going to stake the leaves so that they don't flop.

Here is the setup that I have on my desk, I do not have the cloth tied around the stem or leaves, I just have the ties taped on the supports so they can lean without cutting into them. I have read that they will not bloom if the leaves come up before the stalks, so will be trying to get them to bloom next year.

That is true of Lycoris bulbs, leaf- no bloom, bloom- no leaf. My amaryllis and paperwhites both bloom with leaf. I dont have the amaryllis known as Naked Ladies, tho

Sorry Guys but for some reason, all my posts appear to be double or on occasions triple print without me re-sending, I know I'm NOT computer literate, so even I could NOT manage that exercise
without without a professor standing behind me.

OH NOOOOOO, perhaps it.s my ghost of Christmas past at my shoulder JEEEEEEE !!!!.

Talk of Christmas, allow me to wish you all the very best for 2016, may it be tranquil, healthy and GREEN for you all across the pond and beyond.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Sorry Guys but for some reason, all my posts appear to be double or on occasions triple print without me re-sending, I know I'm NOT computer literate, so even I could NOT manage that exercise
without without a professor standing behind me.

OH NOOOOOO, perhaps it.s my ghost of Christmas past at my shoulder JEEEEEEE !!!!.

Talk of Christmas, allow me to wish you all the very best for 2016, may it be tranquil, healthy and GREEN for you all across the pond and beyond.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.