Amaryllises of the Mid-Atlantic: Share your blooms!

Mine used to bloom every year without me putting them into dormancy. I left them outside all summer and then would bring them in at the end of October. They would lose their leaves naturally and then by January start putting up either leaves or bloom stalks. They usually bloomed late Jan, early Feb and not all at the same time.. They haven't bloomed since I repotted them when I moved here 4 years ago. My friend told me to repot them again and move them to a less sunny window. I did that in October, but so far, no bloom stalks.

Jill.

I do not keep them dormant after thy have bloomed in the house.
I keep them growing until it is time to take them outside. Just as if they were any other house plant.

The ONLY dormancy they get is when I bring them in to my basement and after all the leaves have died off and before the flower--or leaf--buds come forth.
As soon as I see the flower buds--or leaf buds--(whichever may be first)-I move them upstairs to the LR where they will get some light and then bloom.

Frankly--by now--I could well do without all this bother.....
They are, by now, in the "Been there--done that" category.

I guess I have a short attention span when it comes to patience with certain plants......:o)
IF it requires all kinds of special attention--I start to be frustrated wit that particular pant.

Gita

I find my amaryllises require less "special attention" than most plants that I have inside... I wouldn't fuss much with anything that only bloomed once a year.

Here's one of my favorite pots this year, with 3 big bulbs in it. 'Red Peacock' has started blooming, and it looks like a taller bud of 'Snow Drift' may open tomorrow. :-)

Jill, that is lovely, I am still partial to red amaryllis.
I made the mistake of looking on the web site again, but I did resist, saying "there is always next year".
I have 2 seed orders to get out yet and inventory my remaining seed starting supplies left over from last year. Trying desperately to control my gardening budget....Yea! like that's going to happen!

Hey I don't drink or smoke, and DG/internet has replaced my garden magazine addiction.

That's a beauty Jill. I'm going to try Doc's method and sink the pots next to the compost for the summer. Ric

I don't have any water run out by my compost pile... I'll be planting my amaryllises out in the bed by the deck (with the bananas) and running soaker hoses past them. :-)

Here's a closer look at the bloom on 'Red Peacock'.

Critter, That's a real beauty.

Thanks.. must get a photo in better light. I'm a big fan of the double varieties. These (jumbo) bulbs did send up some oddly short stalks, but since they're putting up 3 stalks each, I'm not complaining!

Jill,

Such healthy blooms! Such thick stems! Nice.....

Do you repot your bulbs? How often and into what kind of soil mix?

Do you think the bulbs could be removed and stored dry? When would one replant them if this was done?
I am not thinking of doing this--just asking......

Thanks, Gita

**I know I have several pictures somewhere of my Amaryllis in bloom--just can't find them just now.....:o(

Minerva, and my absolute favorite, United Nations. As you can see, I like the stripes.

Those are both very lovely.

Hi everyone, here's "San Remo" blooming tonight, another of the stripes I like so much.

Those are really nice K. I like your San Remo a lot, have to keep that one in mind for next time, like the faint speckling.
My new Charisma is starting to send out a leaf tip. I have to check them a few times a day, I am craving any new sign of green growth right now, thinking spring 24-7.

I just brought my Amaryllis pots up from the basement. There is NO growth showing yet--but will soon.
More light--more warmth--and more watering......should do it!

I just hope I get a few more blooms than i did last year......Out of 6 pots--I think i had about 3-4 blooms. NOT good!

G.

Very pretty, Karldan.

Here's my 'San Remo' from a previous year... yours has a lot more cream, but the edge and speckling are very similar. I think they can vary like that from year to year as well as bulb to bulb. Fun!

Oh my I think I caught the Amaryllis bug. This was the first time in years that I have had any and now I am hooked. I don't have a pic but I was told that the big red amaryllis that I bought at Lowes as a replacement for the Bright Sparks that I planed to give her was just beautiful.

Wow, those are very lovely flowers, all!!!

I have only a single bulb, and it is currently in "waiting." Iwas late in taking it out of the icebox and putting it in a pot by 3 weeks. So, it's still sleeping. I am not sure it is alive yet.

Last year in February, it was just gorgeous and kept on until about Easter. I'm looking for the pic. I'll post when I find it.

Er, I'm sorry Foxy, but if you put the amaryllis bulb in the refrigerator, you may have killed it. They're tender, not like daffs & tulips. (I was unsuccessful putting daffs in my fridge also until I read not to have them in with fresh produce, as the ethylene gas can be fatal to them.)

'Snow Drift' has started blooming this week.

... and here is 'Snow Drift' in its pot with 'Red Peacock'. I'm really pleased with the way this worked out -- put 3 huge bulbs in this bowl, all sprouted 3 flower stalks. 'RP' put up oddly short stalks (it's not a mini), but that made for a really dramatic display once 'SD' started blooming.

That's a really nice grouping Critter. I like those double blooms. Zombie is getting bigger everyday and has two bloom stalks plus foliage. Neither set of blooms have opened yet.

Joyanna's Zombie finally bloomed. It is very lovely! Thank you, Critter.

Sweet! thank you for sharing it with me. The one I kept aborted its bud last week. :-( But it does have a baby offshoot bulb with it, so perhaps I'll have 2 bulbs blooming next year (well, probably just the one bigger one next year but the year after that the baby bulb should be big enough).

I have an Am question. Do the buds always appear before the leaves?
And if the leaves do start first will the bulb produce a bloom?

I don't have a pic but Mom's Apple Blossom put up a second stalk that has 5 more blooms on it.

No Lady, sometimes leaves come first. It can still bloom, even with foliage.

I think that on a big, well grown, healthy bulb--the flower bud will emerge first---as there will, probably be more of them.

Personally, if i see leaves coming out first--i almost give up seeing any blooms.
As I wrote above--my bulbs are quite old and not that well kept or fertilized....

G.

Gita, That Zombie had foliage come up first and there is a second bloom stalk only about 4" shorter than the one in the photo. If you look closely, you can see the other stalk.

OK, I found it. I think it is called "Minerva." Actually, I thought I picked up a Red Lion from a stand of mixed bulbs, but I didn't, as you can see. It was a lovely pink and white.

Critter, I am confused. I put this same bulb in the fridge, based on some forcing instructions I read off the web. It worked wonderful last year. Is it that you can't force the same bulb twice?

All of your flowers are gorgeous!! I want to buy a new one.... Still no green stems yet and it was planted early January.

Here's another picture. Gosh, I miss them!! They bloomed so well all of February and part of March last year. Come on, let's do it again!!

I'll give them till middle of February and then....

Foxy, give them time. They may not bloom until Easter. Yes, you can force the same bulbs over and over. That Minerva is beautiful. Some of mine were forced for 20 years.

Foxy, That really is beautiful.

Thanks! My B&B sale bulbs are potted. The large one has some leaves showing and the other bulb is just doing nothing, my co-worker, who is not a plant guru said maybe they will bloom for Easter, she just might be right.

Very pretty! Foxy

Boy, I'm sorry I didn't take advantage of that sale. My Mom just loved her amaryllis she would have loved a few more.

I've always been told (quite emphatically) not to put amaryllis bulbs in the fridge... cool room temp is just fine for them, but fridge temps may kill them. Maybe as long as they don't freeze they're OK?

Swelling pods on United Nations. Glad to trade seeds for other stripes! Does anyone know of a dealer who has resonable prices on "papillo"? Also, has anyone tried the "Float seeds on water" germination method for amaryllis?

Thanks, everyone. This bulb was a real showstop last Spring!!

Critter, a refrigerator crisper isn't a freezer. Plus, I put my bulb in a Ziploc bag so it wouldn't get wet. It worked last year. Only thing different this year is that when I dug up the bulb, it was noticeably smaller and whiter. I thought maybe the original had petered out and this was an offshot. The bulb is now 3rd year. I left it in the crisper 3 weeks longer than last time, so I figured it may take longer to "wake up." We will see.

Here's the advice from amaryllis.com that I had read and got the idea to do this:

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

HoyyAnn--I'm surprised you didn't take advantage of sales. LOL!!
But you still can--they're pushing amaryllis for Valentine's Day (sigh!).

Karlldan, I haven't seen a 'United Nations" amaryllis. I can't wait to see it in full deck.

I don't know of any place that sells Amaryllis seeds...seems like the markets are mainly in bulbs.

Foxy, here is United Nations. The color is more orange than it appears in the picture. I have been growing amaryllis for over 30 years and it remains my favorite.

Orange!! Thanks, Kardan, that's lovely!!