I need help. Although I've grown the Dutch amaryllis for years with good results (I've got a Black Pearl blooming right now) I cant get my Cybisters to do anything but put out offsets. I'm following the same protocol for them as the Dutch amaryllis - outside in the summer, inside when temps are forecast to go below 40, sunny south facing window, watering when soil is dry with 1/2 strength liquid fertilizer for flowering house plants. The Dutch thrive, the Cybisters just multiply. I have Lima and Rosado. I nearly lost Rosado to basal bulb rot. It was infected when I got it. A change of potting soil and a drench in a fungicide took care of it. It took some time but new growth began in about three weeks and now it looks quite healthy, just no flower scapes. Lima flowered two years ago. Nothing since. Clearly, I'm doing something wrong, but what?
Problem with Cybisters
I've never had any luck in getting them to rebloom. Since they can stay in the ground year round, where I live, I have them interplanted with my Dutch and African bulbs, so I don't notice their lack of blooms.
Huh! If they're not happy in your environment (which I would think would be teriffic) where are they happy?
This surprises me; I read about unsatisfactory behavior of these for the first time, here.
"Tango" and "LaPaz" (respectively; I assume that these are the same) should be comparably fool-proof.
I have good experience with "Reggae", too. A daughter bulb blooming after 2 seasons.
The other cybisters that I possess do, in a strict sense, not count, bcz they are from my own production - thus they were selected as the fittest that would grow well under the given conditions.
@bsharf
Cybisters are quite delicate - I've a problem with root formation all the time, so perhaps I will leave them in the soil in the future.
Wouldn't it make sense to dig out your cybister bulbs to store them in a colder place for 10 weeks? Florida is pretty warm all year round, so I suppose they are happy just growing leaves.
In Morocco the bulbs can stay in the soil outside all the time, too, and because of the rainy season they flower just after the "Moroccan winter", i.e. in March/April.
Another option might be to plant them tightly in clay pots, and simply sink the whole pot into the ground. Having very little room around the circumference of the bulb might discourage the offshoot behavior. Not sure...but it's something to consider...
May I assume that you are all watering from above? In this case the basal plate of the bulb is more moist, as compared to watering from below, when the water enters the bulk of roots at the bottom directly. This is the only explanation that I have, considering the unconspicuous behaviour of my Cybisters.