what if I don't want to force amaryllis to bloom indoors?

bought a double red yesterday at walmart. it is a kit that you can get to bloom indoors in 8-10 weeks, but I just assume plant outdoors with my others. can I do that right now? They had a great selection (other than minerva, red lyon). y'all ck it out.

As long as it protected from any frost in your area, there is no problem

if I plant outdoors, will it bloom in 8-10 weeks? if not when? just curious
if I plant outdoors and we happen to get a frost warning, will a blanket be sufficient protection?
if I plant outdoors and we happen to get a warning, but I am nowhere close to cover it, will it die or just not bloom?

thanks very much. I love amaryllis but don't know a whole lot about them. The ones that I planted in ground after Christmas 2004, (taking advantage of x/mas bulb sale) have beautiful green foliage right now. are they going to need to be covered also?

vossner,

I planted two amaryllis bulbs outside in my front bed last fall that I had forced in the house the year before, just as an experiment. I have heard mixed reviews on TV and radio gardening shows as to whether or not they'd survive overwintering outside in my area (Dallas/Ft Worth) - some saying they would and others saying they wouldn't, and I'm on the border between zones 7 and 8. Well, one plant survived the winter and bloomed in April outside, but it did look pretty ratty and I doubt I'd do it again. I never saw any sign of the other one - so I guess the mixed reviews were right! I would say in your area you're completely safe to plant them outside. You're near Houston, right?

yes, richmond is sw of houston. thanks steve. then, it's going outside!

I read somewhere that the amaryllis for winter bloom are raised in the southern hemisphere and for summer bloom are raised in the northern hemisphere. Does anyone know if thats true and if that would make a difference? I'd like to start treating mine like other tender bulbs and just plant in spring and store through winter, as my house is too full of pots in winter as it is. Neal.

I don't know about the hemisphere business, but given that some are African in origin, and others Dutch, I'm going to guess that they don't bother with all of that transportation for an item that they sell for $2.50. I don't know of any plants that migrate, and nature can usually take care of itself. You can raise them inside in warm months and leave dormant in winter, but you would probably sacrifice growth to do that verus year-round growth. I suggest very generous sun and feeding if you plan to do that. You could lift them from the soil or just water less frequently in winter.

That made me chuckle. Just envisioned a migrating bird carrying a big amaryllis bulb! LOL I watch way too much Monty Python!

I love that movie and can't believe that I wrote that without thinking of Python.

"It could grip it by the husk, but African swallows are non-migratory"

Sorry, could'nt resist! Neal

My mom forces her amaryllis in October, so that it's blooming by Christmas, then she lets it die down and she plants it outside about May and it blooms again. She digs it up in early September, then starts it all over again.