I'm using 24-8-16 (or thereabouts) from now on!

I had read some discussion by bulb-knowledgeable types, that bulbous flowering plants do not need as much phosphorus as they do potash, and most of all need nitrogen.

Sounded right to me, the actual bulb being made up of swollen leaf bases. So this season I decided to feed mine a dilute feeding with every watering whenever possible due to time constraints etc. That's what they got and the results are so pleasing that I'll keep on using this on my Amaryllids, including my Hippeastrum and Crinums.

Here's a pic of H. 'Exotic Star' on 9/13. It was planted in March as a new bulb and bloomed in April. It put out 16 leaves!

And it's putting up another bud:

Here is another example of what I mean.....'Dancing Queen'. The rule is 48" in length. Even without the pot, the foliage is a meter/39" in length.

I'm sold on 24-8-16 soluble (the blue stuff ;-) ). I'd go on, but would only be bragging.

Not on my efforts, but on the Miracle-Gro.

And I'm in no way affiliated with that company. Any other good fertilizer with minors should do the same.

R
PS:Here's 'Exotic Star' in April.

Very interesting. I'm going to try this. What brand are you using?

Robert, I knew you had some magic potion. I have noticed that my amaryllises have grown quite a bit this season, I attributed it to the rains. I'm not good about fertilizing them. I do use the best soil/compost i can.

At this late date, I don't suppose it is a good idea to fertilize mine, huh? they're all inground.

I have never seen one as luscious as your Dancing Queen above. I hope you are adding that one to the PF.

andi~

The fertilizer is Miracle-Gro. I use their soil (with added amendments) too. Pro-Mix soil is excellent too.

vossner~

The several amaryllis bulbs I have in the ground also made great strides and I didn't feed mine either. We've had record-breaking drought this year, but I did water them regularly. I don't know if they grew more than if they were potted and fed regularly, but I think so--no telling how much better they may have done if I had fed them.......

I have taken to watering with pure water only to coax my plants into the "enforced dormancy" needed for the conditions I have to keep them over indoors. It might be OK to feed them once @ full strength--just don't know how long your warmth holds out there--but it's finally cooling off here, so I'm stopping.

Hippis are known as "hungry feeders", so fertilizing is recommended in any case, but is especially important for potted specimens with their limited root spread. I'll be taking most of my in-ground bulbs up soon--I planned to do that--since they aren't planted as deeply as I'd like if I was going to leave them there. Next year, I hope to finally set some in the ground permanently since I have enough bulbs (counting the offsets) to keep some indoors "just in case". I plan to fertilize the in-ground plants more, despite the enriched loam they'll be in.

Did your area suffer the flooding that so many Texas and SW areas had?

R. (Zone envious nevertheless)

thank you for asking, nope, no damages from the rain. they victims were further east of me.