newbie questions...

hi all, please forgive me if any of this stuff is too basic for you amaryllis experts...feel free to scold me and send me to the Beginners Forum ;)

ok, so i have a few amaryllis that i've picked up over the past few years...i'm very much a newbie when it comes to gardening...so they have bloomed on and off over the past couple of years, and the're quite lovely...i remove the spent flowers and do nothing else really...

after the recent blooms were gone on one of my big red ones, i noticed what looked like seed pods that had formed...i didn't think you could grow these from seeds, so tell me, what do i do with these pods? today i noticed one starting to split open, so i took a pic of what was inside...

do i pinch off and throw away? or can i actually plant this? please help a newbie...thanks!

-abl

seeds?

This message was edited May 27, 2010 12:56 PM

wow, thanks so much for the reply! do i chunk the whole black part in the water? or do i have to peel anything off?

No peeling required. Just "chunk" the whole thing in the water. LOL!

yes, chunk...that's a technical term..lol...thanks for the info! would you like for me to mail you any of the seeds?

Thank you for the offer, but I hybridize amaryllis and have more than I can handle! :)
Why don't you keep us updated about your amaryllis seed growing experience? Sure would like to see the babies when they hatch! LOL!

Gordo-

What method did you suggest? I see your prior post is edited. If you don't mind what approach did you suggest where the entire pod was dunked in water? Thanks.

gordo username is no longer active.

Thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully it's not permanent.

Abl...

I'm no expert either, but I'll share what I know. I can't tell - from above - what information you got, so here goes.

1) By letting your plant "go to seed," it spent a good amount of energy creating those seeds...instead of building a good bulb for next year's bloom. Keep that in mind when you let them go to seed. Your bulb will probably bloom again next year...but maybe not with as many blooms as if you'd cut the flower spike before it made the seed-pod.

2) Growing from those papery seeds isn't a problem. They germinate pretty easily. Just keep in mind that a plant grown from seed could easily need 2-3, even 4 years before it reaches "bloom size." The bulbs will develop slowly over time, and keeping them outdoors in plenty of light -- with occasional ferilizer -- will help them become bigger more quickly. As long as 2-3-4 years sounds, if you're patient, it's a very rewarding experience!

3) The plants you grow from seed may / may not look exactly like the plant they came from. Amaryllis hybridize easily. So you might have a surprise on your hands.

4) Resist the urge to plant the bulbs more deeply once they get established. The bulb needs to sit 1/3 above the soil-line...or it will easily rot when the ground is damp.

No matter what you do...ENJOY! You might even want to do some online reading about "forcing amaryllis bulbs," to help you understand their life-cycle better...and maybe help you bloom them indoors for the holidays. Amaryllis are some of the biggest, nicest flowers you can grow. :)

Scott

I have trouble getting my amaryllis to rebloom. I let the foliage grow, some I have planted in the ground for the summer. Perhaps I don't let them stay dormant long enough. Is there an amount of time for dormancy?

>> By letting your plant "go to seed," it spent a good amount of energy creating those seeds...instead of building a good bulb for next year's bloom.

Thanks for the reminder, haweha. I know that fact but tend to dismiss it when I shouldn't.

I am sorry for the misleading message - actually it was a quote out of a previous posting, from ScBegoniaGuy

I had already compiled a detailed message, where I totally debunked this myth, only to find that the posting kind disappeared when I submitted my posting.

This is no fun for me quite the contrary.

In short: RATHER does a bulb ABORT the (further) development of seeds, than bear any detrimental effect out of seeed pod formation.
I shall detail on another occasion :)