RED! Last bud to have opened starting about two weeks ago. The third part of the bud is about to open maybe today or tormorrow. That will be our second complete bud to open. Note the crinkle on the top edge of the top third. That is evidence of slow wilting towards the end of this year's show. In a week or a little longer we will have cut off the bloom and turned our attention to the developing leaves.
That's lovely. Red breeds true, why not hybridize?
Nice red, docgipe!!
I am happy to report that Minerva has sent up some green stems!! So I'm in business again!! If I recall correctly, it was approximately 6-8 weeks from stem sprout to bloom. So then Easter bloom is on target. You guys are great!!
Miracles are everywhere. After a four and a half year rest, one of my 20 year old Amaryllis is putting up a bloom stalk!!
Wow! Do you remember what color/kind it is? I get surprises sometimes from old pots that have lost their labels..
NO, Critter, Back then, it never occured to me to keep it's name. These are the ones that I repotted in the fall. I stopped forcing them as they weren't blooming anyway. My friend told me to just keep watering them year round and let them find their own schedule,
Thats great Stormy. My new ones that I bought from B & B sale are starting to send up buds too. I'm so excited!
Actually, I was just wondering if you remembered what it looked like from previous blooms... I guess I have too many (no way!) if i can't remember what color they'll be without tags. LOL
Guarantee you it ain't blue. How's
that for a start?
LOL That's a good one Sally. Critter, one was dark Red, another Red with a white stripe, another White with a Red Stripe and there is also a sort of coral colored one.
Which one was putting up the bloom stalk, Stormy?
I do OK with labels when they're in pots... but my amaryllises seem to be much happier if I plant them into a garden bed for the summer... and that's when the tags get lost! I usually recognize them when they bloom, but I seldom know which one is putting up a bud before the bud opens.
Critter, The bud hasn't opened yet!
Hi everyone, I have lots of seeds from "United Nations"/"Minerva" and "Minerva"/"United Nations". Both of my cultivars had large full waxy blooms. Amaryllis seeds reliable breed true, so the blooms of these crosses should be large and flat with stripes and stars of red and orange. The parents are pictured in an earlier post. I have grown the seeds in seed mix, with germination in about 3 weeks or more. I read a new tecnique, float the seeds in a shallow pan of water until germination. Ever tried this? I can offer the seeds for trade for any showy garden flower seeds.
Finally have a chance to post some of the blooms from this year. I have really enjoyed the variety although a few did not turn out to be what was ordered. Fun anyway!
This is Bright Sparks -- I think maybe my favorite of the minis.
Joyanna's Zombie was gorgeous although it was tall and I didn't see much of anything mini about it -- it was an amazing size bloom. Lasted a long time, too.
Misty bloomed with two stems in January and now has put out a third stem that just opened. Behind it is "not Papillo" -- not sure what it is, but it isn't Papillo.
Benefica is hard to do justice to with a camera. The color is so dark and rich -- it bloomed for quite a while and I just noticed a 3rd stem coming up on it so hopefully there will be some more flowers.
This was the first time I tried a cybister and LaPaz bloomed although I haven't seen any leaves coming yet. I hope that doesn't mean it won't be back next year . . .
This one is a nice surprised that is blooming now. It is Green Goddess and this is the 3rd year it has bloomed.
Nutmegnana, Your Amaryllis are beautiful. I too was wondring what about Zombie was mini. Mine was very tall. Your striped mystery one is very pretty. Bright sparks is very nicely colored with that white center. I think the LaPaz is really neat.
Karidan, sorry, I don't have the patience to grow Amyrillis from seed.
Boy I'm glad I still have this thread watched- super!
Lovely Amaryllis pics, nutmegmomma!!
Karldan--what do you consider a "showy garden flower"??? They're all pretty to me!! LOL!! Ditto Stormy on the Amaryllis seeds--I'd rather start Amaryllis from blubs!!
I'm letting a few seed pods mature this year, but they do take several years from seed until you see a bloom. I had some little tags on the pod stems so I knew if that bloom was selfed or crossed (I did a couple of deliberate crosses), but the cat played with the tags... so they'll be pretty random if I grow them out.
Hiya. My baby bloomed for the first time for me 2/16/10. I had this plant (Hippeastrum papilio) many years ago & lost it. Maybe I can get some pollen next year from people who have other Amaryllis and I can do some crosses. I did cross this plant with a white one I had. I love it and will try to keep it in the ghse. You know, I just got this plant last year & I think it was on eBay. I forget (more senior moments). What I did (cause I'm basically lazy), is to put a Jobe's plant food spike in the pot (two of them) and that helped this baby to bloom. It had a total of four blooms. The first two I have crossed with a white amaryllis and the 2nd two are crossed with each other.
This message was edited Mar 1, 2010 7:21 PM
All so pretty!!!
Mine--all 5 or 6 pots of them--are just growing leaves. I see ONE bloom bud on ONE bulb peeking out. That's all!
I kind of know the problem. I don't fertilize them hardly at all while outside--as I have them in a place where I never see them. Out of sight--out of mind!
What's good to feed them with outside? I'll try to be better this year. The bulbs look healthy.....
How often do any of you repot them? Do you keep them in the soil during dormancy? Do you DO dormancy? Someone said they remove the bulb and keep them that way. How does that do better?
Maybe I just got this thing all wrong! For years and years just following Allan Summers' advice. Time to do something different!
Help! Gita
Gita, As I mentioned before, I'm lazy and leave them in the pots. I don't even cut off the leaves, but if they die down, then I remove them. My Hippeastrum leaves stay green all year long and it does not go dormant, so I go with that. The Jobes plant spikes worked great! Buttoneer
Very pretty, I like that one.
I saw rows and rows of them in total full sun at a community garden one year...so I would say give them more sun than Summers said, and MUST fertilize. But I am lazy too. and I have an inordinate fear of burning the roots of anything with fertilizer,.
And I believe there is a disease they can get, that causes reddish pigment on parts of the roots or bulb...so I may be fighting that as well.
But still making a wish list--Beneficia, a Cybister, Papilio...
Hey Sally, I just bought a Cybister "Lima" on eBay. Could NOT resist. Judy S.
News Flash Amaryllis #2 is putting up a bloom stalk! Gosh, with Clivia in bloom and 2 Amaryllis getting ready to bloom, I'll feel like I'm living at Longwood!
Santos is blooming! There are 4 buds on this short stalk, no leaves.
Here is one I just won on eBay called Chinese Amaryllis. Actually I had it identified as Brazilian Stripe and the leaves have a white stripe going down the middle. Too cool.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2010 11:43 PM
This message was edited Mar 31, 2010 11:27 AM
Here is the Hippeastrum Cybister "Lima" I just won on eBay.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2010 11:44 PM
The veining on that Chinese is really something!
Lady, I've never seen one like Santos. Very interesting.
Judy, Those are really nice. I love Ebay!
I love eBay too. Those cybisters really remind me of orchids with their coloration. Can hardly wait to get these in the mail. Doncha just love anticipation? Let's see more ammies. This is the year of the Ammies for me.
I came across a long-ago saved tutorial on how to grow and care for Amaryllis.
This was from Allan Summers--the owner of the now-defunct, out of business "Carroll Gardens".
Some of you, in this area, may remember he had a weekly Radio Show called "Garden Club". It lasted 2 hours every Saturday morning and was a call in--ask questions--and get answers from Allan-type of a show.
He truly was a real gardening Guru--VERY informed-- I know I stayed glued to the radio from 7-9AM every Saturday.....and much of what I know today was learned from these shows.
Please not that he always promoted products that were his sponsors--like "Sea Mate" in this article.....He also carried all these products in his garden Shop.
Anyway--He also sent out a weekly Newsletter that featured advice on a particular plant--each week, often based on questions from a caller.
I saved this one on Amaryllis. I am posting it here just FYI. Read it, get what you want out of it--and then move on. It is what i am still trying to follow in my mind--but i am bot really having much luck, as I am lax about fertilizing my Amaryllis when they are outside for the Summer.....I always put them in a place where I never see them.
I have 5 pots! Space for anything is at a premium in my garden....:o)
***Note to myself--keep them where i can see them so i remember to fertilize them.....
Gita
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Amaryllis make great gifts. Children as well as adults, like to watch the rapid development of the huge flowers.
Amigo (red with a small green white center)
Aphrodite (double, white with pink edges)
Christmas Gift (single white with a small green center)
Green Goddess (white with a prominent green center)
Lady Jane (double salmon pink and white)
Minerva (red with white center)
Nymph (double, white flushed with red)
Pasadena (double cherry red blooms with white accents)
Red Peacock (double red)
Rilona (single salmon)
Roma (single solid red)
Suzan (single pink)
Toronto (red and white stripped)
Vera (pink with white and green center)
As always, our Amaryllis bulbs come with our Garden Worthy Certification ensuring that your satisfaction is guaranteed.
How to Grow Amaryllis
Follow our steps for beautiful Amaryllis.- Buy only top-sized bulbs. They have more blooms on 2-3 stems. Even if a smaller bulb has some blooms the first year, it often will not bloom again for 2 to 3 years, until it matures.
Specifically, Amaryllis sold in cardboard boxes, with a pot and a poor quality potting soil, are often undersized.
Amaryllis makes a spectacular display when potted 2-3 bulbs in one pot. Place the bulbs an inch apart with a 1 inch margin around the bulb. - For single specimens potted individually, choose a pot with a diameter 2 inches wider than the Amaryllis bulb. This will leave an inch all the way around the bulb.
Amaryllis like to be somewhat root bound. - Be sure the pot has a drainage hole. - I prefer a pot that is technically called an Azalea pot. It is deeper than a bulb pan but not as deep and broader based than a standard pot. Thus it is less likely to tip over; Amaryllis grows to a height of two or more feet. - If you cannot plant the bulbs immediately after receiving them, store in a cool (55 degree) place. -
To encourage rapid root development, soak the base of the bulb and the roots in lukewarm water, to which a little SeaMate has been added, for several hours before planting. Save the SeaMate solution to water in the Amaryllis sparingly immediately after it has been potted. - Use well-drained, professional-quality potting soil. - Tamp the soil firmly adding potting mix until the bulb is half covered. The neck should be entirely exposed.
Depending upon the variety, the flower bud usually emerges before the leaves, with the leaves emerging when the flower spike is about a foot tall. - Water very sparingly until the sprout is out of the bulb. Thereafter start watering more generously whenever the surface soil is dry to the touch. As the Amaryllis buds open and while it is in flower, it consumes large amounts of water.
Amaryllis needs warmer temperatures (70 degrees) in the initial stages of growth. Grow them at this temperature until the roots form and the flower stalk and the leaves begin to grow. Bottom heat is ideal, but usually not achievable in the home situation. Warmer temperatures, especially when the stem is over 8 inches, promote long, weak, spindly growth.
Once the buds open, cooler daytime temperatures of 65 degrees, in a place out of direct sun, will prolong the life of the flower, as will cool night temperatures of 55 degrees. - Place the pot in a sunny window. Turn the pot daily to insure that the stalk grows straight up. Amaryllis has a tendency to grow towards the light.
Amaryllis usually bloom 2-3 weeks after the shoot emerges, about 6-9 weeks after potting - longer in the winter and less in the spring. Some varieties naturally bloom earlier than others. Each Amaryllis bulb seems to have a mind of it's own as to when it will bloom. The earliest an Amaryllis will usually bloom is mid-December. The latest is May.
For continuous display of flowers, pot Amaryllis on 14 day intervals. - Pinching off the yellow anthers will also extend the flower life; but this disfigures the flower and you may not wish to do this. - After the Amaryllis finishes flowering remove the blossoms and their necks to the top of the stem. This will prevent seed formation. For appearance, you can cut the stem off just above the bulb, but if you allow the naked stem to remain for a month or so, until it browns, the bulb will be stronger next year.
Place the Amaryllis in a sunny window and keep it actively growing after it finishes blooming. - Keep the soil moderately moist and fertilize with SeaMate with every watering.
After the danger of frost, when the temperature is warm in the spring, plunge the pot outdoors in a partially shaded spot. Choose a spot with filtered sun. A location with almost full morning sun is good, but strong afternoon sun is not.
You can top dress the bulb with Espoma "Bulb-Tone" when you first put it outdoors. Continue watering and fertilizing the Amaryllis with SeaMate all summer. - Unplunge the pot and bring the plant indoors just before the first hard frost. Store in a cool, dry place (about 55 degrees) and stop watering completely.
The foliage will gradually turn yellow and then brown. When it does, you can cut off the foliage about an inch above the bulb. Leave the pot dry and undisturbed for about a month or two until the shoots begin to emerge.
Every other year, repot in a slightly larger pot just as growth initiates. Do not trim the roots. - If new shoots do not emerge by mid-January, move the pot to a warmer place. - Amaryllis which do not bloom either have had an insufficient dormant period - too warm and/or too short-- or the bulb is too small. An Amaryllis that had less than 5 leaves over the summer usually is too small to bloom.
Gita
An Amaryllis that had less than 5 leaves over the summer usually is too small to bloom.
Santos should have distinct white rays (white stripes down the center of the petals)... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/146239/
Jill, that what I found too and I looked on other sites for pictures just to confirm. The tag says Santos. I'll look up Charisma maybe I switched the tags.
Back, not that one either, tags not switched by me.
This message was edited Mar 12, 2010 7:42 AM
