We just moved to Winter Springs Florida and the home we purchased has many many amaryllis bulbs in the yard. Many green shoots (on as many as 100 bulbs) came up in February and March, but we only had 4 bloom. I am replanting several of the beds because they had very old shrubs that I wanted to change and I have found probably 200 bulbs total, some are rotted out and don't look healthy, not sure why the others didn't bloom, some maybe too much water, or were too deep in the ground So I pulled them out and am sorting healthy from unhealthy. I was planning on storing them in the garage until I replant. But it is 85 degrees already and will be a humid summer. How should I store these over the summer to keep them mite and fungus free? Thank you in advance... Patricia
Best way to store bulbs over the summer
If I were you, I'd plant the bulbs that I want to save into pots with good dirt:You can crowd them since they aren't staying in the pots forever. Neck of the bulb above the soil line. Fertilize if they will be in the pots more than a month or so. If the leaves have wilted, put them in a shady spot until they perk up. You don't want to put them into dormancy in summer in Florida by storing the uncovered bulbs in the garage. That will hold them back too much. Check the depth, moisture and sun when you replant. I have one Amaryllis bed raised 6" to deal with an overly wet spot. They do OK with at least half day sun to bloom well. If you have Amaryllis on the property, you are ahead of the game: with a little TLC they will reward you with years of blooms.
bsharf- Thank you for your response! Would you use good dirt, or would very sandy dirt be OK? (better drainage but less nutrients- I'm a beginner to Florida gardening, so please forgive me if I ask dumb questions) My plan would be to leave them in a well draining container until I plant them in their new spot in the fall (which will be a sunnier spot). When you say perk up, should I be cutting the tops off and the roots back as well, or just plant them in the way I dig them out? I thought you did cut the leaves at some point, or is that just to clean up the look of the garden, it's OK to leave them on for several months? thanks, Patricia
I'd just leave the leaves alone, Let them die back when they are ready. If they do die back from the move, they will often put up a second set of leaves. The soil that you have in your garden is fine, the main thing is to get the roots back into dirt as soon as possible, and give them some slow release fertilizer. Afternoon sun might be too intense for the uprooted bulbs, but give the pots morning sun, so the leaves can produce some sugar for the bulbs. Amaryllis survive as long as the bulbs don't freeze solid, or sit in reallly wet soil. The blooms for next year are produced inside the bulbs this summer, so don't be disappointed if they don't bloom next year, from the stress of being uprooted, stored and replanted this year. Once they are in a permanent spot that they like, the blooms will come back. FYI never cut the leaves back on Amaryllis after they bloom. The leaves produce the food for the bulb, which is growing, producing bulblets, and future flowers. In Florida, Amaryllis will keep their leaves through most of the year, only dying back after a freeze, which could be anywhere from Dec to Feb. In warmer areas, they sometimes will die back at the end of "winter" before producing new leaves and flowers. The amaryllis in this photo were planted on the north side (2 hrs of sun) of an empty and foreclosed house on my street. Since I have a soft spot in my heart for Amaryllis, I was very upset at the decline in this neglected group of bulbs over the six years I lived here. In April 2010, I dug up half the clump, and moved them to the west side of my house. In the photo, you can see the result of only one full year of sun and fertilizer. The remaining Amaryllis at the empty house did not produce any blooms and only scattered leaves this year, so they are definately on their way out. I feel good that I was able to preserve the genetic lineage of this group of bulbs.
thank you! I'll keep you posted! Your transplanted bulbs are gorgeous. Some of ours are still just shooting up their green stalks with no flower, makes me think many were planted too deep....
If there are no flowers, then the growing conditions last summer were not right. The buds for this year were produced inside the bulb last year.
Hi- here's an update on how the bulbs are doing, I planted them in these dirt pots late May, so this is one month of growth. I will let them go like this for a couple more months. When I replant them this fall, in the sunny spots where I want them to bloom next Feb/March should I cut the leaves and replant, or just transplant leaves, roots and everything into the new spot? What event actually triggers them putting up the flower? The cold weather?
In the fall, just pop the whole thing into the ground, leaves and all. Water them at planting, then go very easy on water, as they head into their winter rest. Sometimes, after transplanting, the plants will lose their leaves fairly quickly, sometimes the leaves will stay green through most of the winter, until there is a cold snap. After the leaves die back, then you can clean up the bed. In Florida, I imagine that the trigger for flowering is a combination of increasing soil temps and increasing day lenght after a very short winter rest. Don't be discouraged if they don't bloom next year, though the way they look now, I am betting that you will get some flowers. Looking at your photo I would plant them a little bit deeper in their final bed. When they are up this high the bulb is more likely to freeze (turn to mush) if you have a frost. I plant mine with the neck of the bulb just at the surface. If you are more comfortable planting them higher, use mulch over the bed, up to the top of the neck for winter protection. Good luck with your new Amaryllis beds.
This message was edited Jun 27, 2011 6:49 PM
Thank you for your help! I just planted another 90 smaller bulbs in another bed, and they are sprouting leaves now as well. So I am excited to see how they do next spring. I'll keep you posted and let you know what our success rate was after all the moving around of bulbs.