I have an amaryllis that I planted last year in late winter. It never bloomed, but just got nice, healthy foliage. I've read that to get it to bloom you wait till fall when the foliage yellows, cut it off, lift the bulb and clean it up, and refridgerate for 6 wks, then re-pot, and it will bloom in about 8 wks. The foliage on mine has not started to yellow, just looks nice and green still. Is it okay to cut it back now? I would like to have a bloom on it. At this point I'm not gonna get it to bloom by Christmas, but maybe by Feb. Should I just stop watering and let it go dormant, then refridgerate it? Any help would be appreciated.
Karen
Advice on getting my amaryllis to bloom
Yes, stop watering it, when the foliage dies out lift it from the pot and shake off dirt. Now store it in a cool dark place for at least 12 weeks, then bring it up, plant and it should bloom for you. ^_^
Ok, will do, Celeste, and thanks. Can I just keep in in my cellar? I don't have to put it in the fridge?
Karen
I've never put mine in the frig...just the cellar. Good luck!!
Celeste is offering good advice, Karen.
I set mine outdoors in the spring, stop watering in early October and bring them in just before frost (last week). They sit on the cool cement basement floor to rest until New Years day when they get re-potted in new soil and placed in warm sun. I cut any green leaves around Thanksgiving.
Andy P
Thanks, Andy. So I will stop watering mine and put it down in the cellar. You guys are the best!
Karen
I'm surprised no one jumped in with 'Keep them green all year'. I've seen that culture work well.
The 'rest' method more closely mimics the Amaryllis native conditions IMHO.
So if I do nothing with mine it will go into dormancy all on its own and bloom when the time comes? I'm fine with that method.
Karen
I left mine outside until a few weeks ago, & cut off the foliage even though it was green. I put it in the west window like last year, & it's growing new foliage, just like last year. It sent up a bloom shoot this past March, so I hope it will do the same next year. I guess if you want an earlier bloom, you have to let it rest.
Mine have been at rest since August and some have lost all leaves as they should while other leaves are somewhat green. They'll have to come inside tonight.
I'm going to let mine rest. No water for awhile so the foliage can die back and it can go into dormancy.
Karen
Mine haven't had a drop of water since early August. I'm getting very impatient for them to lose their leaves.
That long and they still haven't lost their leaves?!!!! Wow! They really are persistant, I guess.
Karen
Just a few but enough that I don't want to tackle them until they're all ready to grow again. At an Estate Sale of a departed neighbor I bought all six of the amaryllises (for less than a dollar for all of them) she had outside and upright so, though I've put them to sleep, I doubt they'll bloom this winter.
Well, good luck with them. You got a great deal.
Karen
This afternoon I brought them all into the garage. There are about 9 waiting for the old leaves to finish drying but the others are ready to start the bloom process again.
It was a good deal! Everything we bought at that sale was great including an irregularly shaped piece of granite I put in the garden. That was a big $10.00, the most expensive thing I bought at the sale. For two dollars I got 8 bonsai containers (I don't even do bonsai but couldn't resist the bargain).
Nice, Pirl. I used to bonsai way back when I lived in Reno, NV in the early 80's. I was in their local bonsai club. My attempts failed, though, as I would forget to water them. They need daily watering, especially in such a dry climate as Reno is. Here they would fare better, but would still need a lot of watering during the dry times. I would like to get into it again someday.
Karen
Maybe when I no longer garden outside I'll try some bonsai. It always looks so interesting.
Sounds like a great find, Pirl....yard sales here don't have that nice gardening stuff!
Bonsai trees must be kept outside unless they are they indoor plant types. If you are using trees and shrubs that normally stay outside, then those must be grown outside and kept out all year. They can be brought in for brief periods of time, but generally our indoor conditions are too dry for most typical bonsai trees. They don't tell you this when you buy them from vendors that sell at Mall kiosks, etc., so most people eventually end up with a dead bonsai tree. So sad.
Karen
Nice haul pirl!! I can't wait to see what you got in terms of Amaryllis....any flower is a pretty one ^_^
Karen - at that rate I have a good collection for my own Estate Sale, eventually! There are two more small, square pots that aren't in this photo. I'll have to check for amaryllis photos.
Pixie - I agree! While it's fun to have names it's also easy to move a pot if it doesn't look good with its neighbor - not true for plants in the ground!
I'm with the lazy "keep it green all year" crowd. I have several amarilli(?) in a window box. They seem to bloom all by themselves at odd times, perhaps 15 months apart.
I left one in an unheated garage....totally dry & neglected, because I had forgotten it....and it bloomed that summer...still in the garage where I finally noticed it!
Nice collection of pots there, Pirl!
Sounds like they'll bloom whether or not you water them.
Karen
The six that haven't lost their leaves will just have to wait it out and then I can have blooms all winter and spring. The biggest surprise was the ones that bloomed in both winter and again in spring or summer.
This nameless one bloomed on July 16th.
Mark Viette is on, at this moment, talking about Amaryllis - WOR radio, 710 on your dial.
Pretty, Pirl. Too bad I missed that radio show.
Karen
He did a great show today and much of it on amaryllis. The one thing that struck me was when he said to buy them as big as a grapefruit! I only have one near that size and the rest are more like large lemons or oranges. The huge ones are very expensive.
I found some of Mark Viette's help regarding Amaryllis bulbs here:
http://www.inthegardenradio.com/v.php?pg=434
I was at Home Depot this morning, and they had amaryllis bulbs for $15 each. They were in pots with pepples, and they were grapefruit size bulbs. One already had buds coming up, at least 6" high. I was tempted, but I'm on a tight budget right now, so didn't get one.
Thanks for the link. That was a good bit of info.
Karen
The only year I purchased the really large bulbs was when WFF had a sale at their warehouse....hope they do it again this year.
I was at a local nursery today and saw grapefruit sized amaryllis bulbs for sale. Great looking ones, too. They were $19.99 each.
While I was there I picked up a fern (have no idea of the variety, but it has blue foliage) and a pitcher plant, which I'm hoping will keep down our population of fruit flies.
Karen
I'll have to keep my eyes and wallet open!
Sounds like a good haul, Karen. Have you tried apple cider vinegar for the fruit flies?
Beautiful bloom Pirl! It has the colors of 'Picotee' but is a double like 'Aphrodite'...maybe a bleached 'Siren'? LOL
This message was edited Nov 8, 2010 7:29 AM
That fern sounds wonderful, Karen!
Celeste, I did try white vinegar with some dish soap in it, and that did trap many. We don't have too many now.
Marilyn, here's a pic of the fern.
Karen
Close-up on the foliage.
Karen
Here's the pitcher plant.
Karen
Love them both!