I planted some of these bulbs last spring. I'm new to Amaryllis; these were sold to me off ebay as lilies. Anyway, a few scaggly, laying down, sprigs grew from them and died about 2 months later. Now I have leaves popping out of the ground just as it starts getting down to freezing nights here in ATL!
Should I just leave them alone and let nature take it's course? Are they forever out of sinc?
I LOVE the look of these. Any help will greatly be appreciated.
Amaryllis Papillio Butterfly
gordo, do amaryllis live outside in 8a? i have a clown amaryllis in the ground for several years now. also, can you please describe for me exactly WHERE the neck is on an amaryllis? i am always confused. is the bulb entirely underground but just barely and only the "stem" part is out of the ground or do you actually leave the top part of the bulb out of the ground? i have some that have never bloomed that are in the ground. is it most likely that the soil is not rich enough? i never use fertilizers unless it's just some manure i throw on top of the ground. or is it the hard clay soil? they are in a "shaded" during short and varying periods throughout the day. please note that "shaded" means shaded for here. during intense summers they would get mostly sun.
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I got my bulbs mixed up and the ones that are outside and popping up are actually either Oxblood lilies or Lilium Nepalense.
I even have bulbs I planted in the spring that I have not IDEA where I planted them! I need a better system!
Sorry for the delay replying - I've been ill.
OK... The neck of the bulb is the place where it starts to skinny out. Generally about one inch below the ultimate top of the bulb. The shoulders of the bulb are about two inches down from the top of the bulb. That being said, I usually plant Amaryllis waist deep, or the exact middle of the bulb. The neck must be above ground, because it prevents moisture and insects from entering the bulb from the neck opening (not that bugs won't try and succeed).
Figure it this way...if during the Winter the ground is going to freeze down to the level of the planted bulb, you're going to have dead meat. If you remedy the situation by piling a load of mulch on top of the Amaryllis bed, they have a better chance of survival.
Sun and Amaryllis: In general Amaryllis love the sun, but the Cybisters like a more shady location. Filtered light. Then again, some like deep shade. If you determine, through research, what your particular variety requires, you can group bulbs according to their sun requirements and plant them where those needs can be met.
Soil: The most important factor when growing Amaryllis is DRAINAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I use a mix of 50% Perlite to 50% good potting soil, if I'm planting in ground. Some bulbs need super drainage (Cybisters and species Amaryllis) so I plant them in pots in 100% crushed stone (Bonsai mix). Bulbs have to stay in a moist, but not overly wet condition. Water can be a friend or an enemy. It all depends on how much of it the bulb requires. ROTTING FROM BEING OVERLY WET is the most frequent cause of bulb death.
Hope this has been of some help to you. Happy growing! :-)
3gardeners, let me know next year what kind of bulbs you do have. red oxbloods? or l. nepalense? i see a trade coming. lol.
thanks gordo. sorry to hear you have been sick. another question on the amaryllis...besides drainage what is the other single most important thing in growing these? do they need a high nitrogen fertilizer to bloom? or do they need acidic soil? and do amaryllis pull themselves down in your sandy soil (i assume you have sandy soil living in florida)? i think we were talking about this on another thread but there is something that is not clicking with me.
Actually, I just give them regular doses of Miracle Grow and Cleary's 3336G fungicide.
I don't really have sandy soil here. We've enriched all of the beds with good potting soil.
I think the other most important requirement when growing Amaryllis is regular application of a systemic fungicide.