amaryllis question

I have some amaryllis that have been in pots since last winter, and have had green growth on them all year, Will they not bloom now that they haven't had a dormancy period? or dark period? what should I do to get them to bloom this winter.

Mine were in the ground all summer and today I will dig them up and give them 6-12 weeks dormancy and then pot them up for the bloom. They will be later than the holidays, but by mid January through February I am in need of some glorious color, so this works out well for me.

Don't water them anymore and let them go dormant. I lay mine down on their sides in a closet in an used room.

Hope this is of use to you.

Excellent, I still have time for some blooms later on then, thanks so much for the help


I'll go do that now, would love to keep them named, will have to leave the name tags with them LOL

thanks again,

I just went and pulled all my amaryllis bulbs and labled the bulbs, laid them on the floor of my garage to dry out and drop leaves, suppose this is ok to do this? it stay s above freezing out there. and I could probably find a dark spot toput them all out there for 6 to 8 weeks, that would work ha?

Dormancy isn't necessary, but they should be fine.

We get too cold here to leave them in the garage. They should be ok as long as they don't freeze. I have heard that a dormant period isn't necessary for the bulb, but this is just the way I have always taken care of mine. I am able to bring them out of dormancy on my schedule more or less this way...well, in theory maybe!

I could have made my statement clearer. If you want them to bloom on schedule, dormancy is the tool, but it is not necessary for most amaryllis to rebloom.

oh wow, thanks, guess i'll go ahead and plant a couple of them, and see what happens.

how long will it take for one to bloom without domancy? mine have been in the ground for months and no blooms

planolinda-

Are you fertilizing?

What type do you have?

If hybrids, try letting them out a week or three without watering and see if that sparks blooms. If you have healthy green leaves this should help. The ones I keep everygreen bloom 2 or 3 times per year.

no to fertilizing-type is voo doo- and yes it has healthy green leaves

Start a fertilizing program. They are heavy eaters and that may be part of your problem. I assume you don't get much cold and that they are green year-round.

well we get some cold--a short winter but some freezing weather

You know, i'm beginning to think I should have just left all my amaryllis alone and potted up, they have been on the floor of the garage for over 2 weeks and don't even look like their going to loose any of their green leaves, their not even wilted any.

I think i'm going to just pot them all back up and let them bloom when they want to, I got some others coming and I know they've been in storage and will bloom in 6 to 8 weeks after I plant them, so I'll have some flowers during the holidays.

I do have one more question though.

I have a couple bulbs, planted in hurricane glasses that have rocks in them, no soil, they always seem to have a hard time emerging in the beginning, what can I do to get them to show growth when their planted in rocks.

here's a photo of one

One of these has some mold down by the roots. So what am I doing wrong? too much water? maybe?

Here's the one with the mold around the roots, it does have some extra water in it. and there isn't alot of sunshine in the windows where their at.

Should I put them out in the greenhouse for a while?

oh my gosh, I just pulled those two bulbs, the one that had mold in it, was so stinky, the bulb looks good but it started to rot. and the other was ok, but wet, it would have been on it's way to rotting too.

any suggestions what I should do now,

Seems like i'm not going to be able to grow these in the rocks or the house.

That always happens when you root them in water and don't change the water. Next time, use a forcing vase that's wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Use a few pieces of activated charcoal in the water if you have some (in the pet section). That makes it much easier to remove the bulb and change the water. You should change the water every couple of days.

Just take them outside, rinse them off well with the hose, and then put them in soil instead. You can root and bloom a newly-purchased bulb in water, but you cannot sustain them in water. So once they they bloom you have to pot them up.

Also - It's hard to tell from your photo, but the water level should be just at or below the basal plate. The roots should be in water, but not the bulb itself. If the bulb itself is sitting in standing water it it bound to rot.

Ok, thanks, I hadn't changed the water in 2 weeks LOL, these are new bulbs, but i'm going to let them dry a day or so and pot them up in soil instead.

Would it be ok, if right before they bloom or rigth when the start sending up the bloom stem, can I take them out of the soil and put them into the rocks in the hurricane vase again? just untill after they bloom? these have not yet bloomed for me, theirnew bulbs.

Yes, you can leave them there until they bloom. Just be sure to change the water and rinse off the bulb. And you probably have some rotting roots that can remove gently with your hands, taking care to avoid the healthy roots.

This message was edited Nov 22, 2007 3:27 PM

Took me forever to find this thread.

Those amarylis I asked about in the very top post here, well, their still no growth , no leaves, or nothing. I cut them back when I originally made this post, then repotted them, I haven't gotten no green leaves or anything. I think I made a huge mistake. ALL the amarylis from last year haven't leafed out or made flowers yet. Now this brings me to the new ones I got this fall , and what to do with them after they bloom, so I won't have this problem with them next year. Their for the most part all blooming now. some a bout a month ago bloomed. But none of the ones that I had from last year that I cut back after I pulled them from the pots. Big mistake. Should have just left them alone.

Should I cut them back? down to the bulb? or leave them alone after they bloom, and how do I get the ones from last year to even show growth or is it too late for them?

Can you post a photo? If not, remove one from its post and tell us what it looks like. Do you see live roots?

The bulbs are healthy, and have little roots, someone told me I probably put them into dormancy by cutting off the leaves. None of them are rotten. There are one or two with green leaves starting to show but that's weird, cause doesn't the flower spike come up first before the leaves?

Not necessarily. Any idea what these are? Where did you get them? Stick with it. If they are alive it will work out. What have you been feeding them?

I used miracle grow a while back, but not on a regular basis.

I'd have to go check which ones they are, not sure off the top of my head. one is that butterfly one.

Thanks for all the info i just love them all I really like purple and pink and rich red. can anyone tell me where I can order them from