Amaryllis and Hippeastrums: What's next for young bulbs, 1 by joanlc

joanlc wrote:
These baby bulbs, which were separated from their parents late last spring, grown on in the garden through the summer, and re-planted in December, are (some of them), sending up flower stalks! Doesn't look like there's much in there. But apparently they're ready to give things a try. These are Dancing Queen and Flaming Peacock.

I didn't want to have too many pots in the house to look after, so since they were small, and also so they could be in big enough pots not to be "tippy," I grouped them. My plan is to just watch for now, and grow them on. Re-pot when they start to go dormant - or set outside, if it's warm enough. Around here, it doesn't seem like they ever really volunteer to go dormant. They stop growing fast for a while, but they seem to stay green *forever*, and always to have some young leaves in the middle. I'll watch for when the slowdown occurs and move at that time, trying for as little damage as possible.

That's the plan anyway. Move 'em on up, feed, water, sun, and see what happens.

The biggest and fastest growing babies are Dancing Queen. What a vigorous line that seems to be! Those bulbs were maybe 2.5" in diameter when planted. The largest of the Flaming Peacock was 2". My question is, how long will it take for them to reach the size that would be sold commercially? Assuming I do the right stuff in general.

This isn't really a critical question; more like just curiosity. But it's nice to think about stuff like this on a Sunday morning, with coffee. Thanks for looking and chatting -

Joan