Christmas Amaryllis

I received a Ammaryllis for christmas that started to bloom about 7 days after it arrived. It came from a florist so obviously it was greenhouse grown. It is so top heavy after blooming I had to lean it against the wall. I'm including a photo to show just how heavy the blooms are. My question is once the blooms die off how long should I keep the bulb in the present container and where should I overwinter it and how. I have a greenhouse that I keep at a minimum or 45 degrees. I keep all my potted plants in there for the winter. I would like to keep it for a indoor plant, but would plant it outside if neccessary. Any help would be appreciated. TIA

Bob

After it blooms, keep it inside. It needs continued warmth. The lows in your greenhouse would be detrimental at this point.

Also consider re-potting in a suitable unglazed terra cotta pot with fresh good quality potting mix. It is likely that the mix in the pot is too peaty and you'll run the risk of root problems with the overly moisture-retentive medium. The best time to do that would be as soon as it's finished blooming. Cut off the bloom stems at an angle, an inch or two above the bulb. Keep in a sunny window.

Good growing!

R.

Thanks Raydio just the info I needed. Just two more questions, how often should it be watered and assuming that proper potting and care is done as required when should it bloom again.

Bob

whoops forgot one other thing. How deep should the bulb be planted in the media? I read some or your other posts and I think I might me getting hooked on growing Amaryllis both in pots and the garden.

Bob

Getting hooked on these lovely bulbs is a good thing! I hope to finally get a good place made in the yard for some bulbs.

Most of us put 1/3 to 2/3 of the bulb under the soil, leaving the top ("shoulder" and neck) fully exposed.

After you transplant, water it in fully, let drain, making sure that no water stays in the saucer. I usually put them in the sink and let stand for awhile. Sometimes your pot seems to have stopped dripping, but later, you can see that more water has trickled out, and you don't want that.

Indoors in winter, for an 6-8" pot I let the top inch or so dry before watering again. I won't give it a great big drink every time, since the medium has some moisture down in the pot. A little between topping it off and giving a good but light drink. If you've got a well-drained mix, you don't have to worry too much with too much water at one time, just don't re-water too often. If you have to err, going a bit too dry is better. (But just right is just right!)

I scratch down into the pot a bit to see what the moisture level is like. Sometimes the surface dries out fully, but there's still some dampness down where the roots are, so I may wait another day to water.

Good gardening!

R.

Thanks raydio I'm looking forward to reading more of your other posts. Have a great New Year.

Bob

Pretty color on that one Bob! Good luck, we are all addicts over here for sure!

Just one thing I have learned about mine is that you need to turn it often as it grows towards the light, which made mine grow sideways for a couple of days! ☻Now I know to turn mine on a regular basis to keep this from happening. Good luck and enjoy, they are beautiful!

And beware, most of us will gladly be enablers for your habit!

More is better but too much is *divine*!

R.

raydio is soooooooooooooooo correct on that one! LOL

Truerer words were never spoken! LOL

I have Red Lion, Apple Blossom, and a white one, and it isn't NEAR ENOUGH! LOL

I'm getting ready to transplant tomorrow. Is miricle grow potting soil ok and if so should I amend it in any way???

Bob

I use M-G but I like to amend it for mature bulbs:

Three parts M-G and one part perlite for general planting.

Two parts M-G to one part perlite for those that need a lighter mix.

Anywhere in between is fine to. Over time you'll find out what mix works best for you and your plants.

R.

Thank you raydio, I think I have some perlite in storage and will follow your advice. I bought some 12" unglazed terra cotta pots. probobly went over board on the size, but what the heck, think big. Thanks, Bob

I don't know if anyone is still watching this thread, but if so here is another pic of the Amaryllis I received as a christmas gift. I repotted it and what your looking at now is a second blooming. Also there is what appears to be a third blooming starting at the base of the plant. How many times will they rebloom? And how long will the foliage last before it wilts and dies back? Should I cut it back and anytime? If this is typical of Amaryllis I am sure going to start investing in more of them. Also Raydio, if your there, I used your suggestion of 3:1 MG and perlite mix and it seems to be working well. Thanks, Bob

Here's a close up.

my christmas amarylus bloomed today!! my very first ever!! i have a little row of them and so am looking forward to each one making its apperarnce! but i didn't know they bloom a second or third time! so i am in for more blooms before it just goes to be a green plant?

I'm glad I'm not the only one new at this. I'll post as mine changes, more or less learn as I go. Has yours started to have leaves yet? Good luck with yours.

Bob

Cheers, Linda!

Your bulb may produce up to three scapes total in this bloom cycle, Linda, as Bob's is doing. You could see two fairly close together and then another weeks after the second has faded. Or not.

Bob, you show will most likely be over with the third scape. Four scapes isn't unheard of, but that's usually on a newly planted large-flowered hybrid, but that's one of those monster or "mother bulbs". If the third of your three scapes is dead center, Bob, that's all for now.

For you both:

One way to tell if your bulb has more scapes inside that might *possibly* flower at some point, soon or not so soon, but during the current season, is to look at where the last scape is in relation to the emerging foliage if it's coming, or where the scape is emerging in the nose of the bulb.

If a leaf is coming out right against the stem, that the last scape for the season. The same is true if the stem is coming out dead center on the leafless "nose". There may be exceptions to this "rule-of thumb", but scapes come first from the outside in. What I mean is that the first scape would be furthest from the center, the next from the opposite side of the bulb closer in toward the center, and the third, from the same side as the first, even closer in than the second scape.

If the last scape isn't in the dead center, you may see another scape at some point during the current cycle or later in the season, but there is no guarantee. It might not be far enough along to show itself until next year, but if it is close enough, it could continue to the point that it is mature to emerge, and it will do so when it is ready.

You can expect at least one scape about the same time next year and possibly two if all else goes well during the growing season. Sometimes things work out that you might see two scapes early on and another later on in, say summer, as I was saying about Linda's bulb. Or you may get one early and one later, or none early and two later {chuckle}. One can't predict these things with that much certainty.

Take the best care of them during this first crucial year of reestablishing a good set of roots and re-building any loss to the bulb during this first blooming, and you will certainly see more blooms in the future.

thanks bob for the well wishes and for going ahead of me so i can follow in the learning of amarylus!
raydio--what a great explanation and thanks for taking the time to educate us! i plan to put mine in the yard come spring and then to leave them there since i understand that they should be able to take our somewhat mild winter (we do get a few freezes)--think i will buy new ones each christmas rather than taking my outdoor ones inside--i was given a few bulbs lasst summer by a dave's gardener and left those outdoors (they never did bloom but sure looked healthy) and so will be able to see how they do in our winter--i know i am off topic a bit since your explanation was about the 2nd and third bloom but i guess i am responding to the last part about the future of the bulb

Your welcome Linda and as you see raydio is a great mentor when it comes to Amaryllis.
Now raydio after buttering you up there are two more things I would like to clear up. First, after the last scape is gone how long do the leaves remain before they wilt? Then, assuming they do wilt and die, how close to the bulb do I cut them back? Next, assuming I leave the plant in the same location and potted when will the cycle start over again? And now for the next question ( which goes to show my ignorance) as the old question goes "which comes first, the chicken or the egg," my question is which comes first the scape or the leaves? As I said raydio I'm starting from scratch and want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I invest in more plants (bulbs) so please bare with me. I'm including a pic of the scape and the leaf to the right of it. As you can see if its clear enough, the scape has come out as if it came almost wrapped with the leaf and it is on the oposite side of the plant from the first scape. Once I understand all of the above, then I think I'll be able to move on with more confidence. I hope all this helps you also Linda.

Bob

"Now raydio after buttering you up there are two more things I would like to clear up." LOL!

"First, after the last scape is gone how long do the leaves remain before they wilt?"
The leaves shouldn't wilt unless your plant goes beyond dry for some time. Leaves are good for many months and will remain green as long as they are healthy and useful to the plant .

After a time, as new foliage comes in, the oldest leaves will yellow, wilt, and begin to dry up. You can cut them off a few inches above the "eye" at any time, but I like to allow the leaf to make its own "cut". Manytimes it will make a line of "excision" across the leaf blade, above which point the leaf is drying and below it, the leaf base is still green. Your bulb form a "neck", if that is natural for it, or will just dry down to the shoulder, leaving very little is any neck. Sometimes the leaf just fades away entirely into the eye, the point of excision out of sight.

In case you were actually wondering about the flowering stem, it will begin to fade after the last flower has died away unless it is forming a seed pod. Some people cut them off right away, a few inches above the eye at an outward slanting angle, and some let the scape dry out a bit (letting it collapse) first. The stub will continue to dry out and when it is fully dried, it can be removed with a gently tug.

"Next, assuming I leave the plant in the same location and potted when will the cycle start over again?"

Depends on when it "ends", if ever it does. Kept green and growing year-round, there isn't a clearly define start-stop point, just periods of growth, consolidation, and blooming. "Consolidation" is when there aren't any new leaves coming and the plant seems to be doing nothing but sitting. It's a natural part of the cycle. Sometimes a plant will "stall" due to too much heat or other environmental stress. It can coincide with a consolidation phase and will pass when conditions change.

If you force, coax, allow, etc. a totally dry dormancy anywhere from late summer into winter, you could say that would be the end of one cycle and the next will begin after a period of 8 or more weeks (or less depending on cultivar) and will end when new growth starts or scapes begin to emerge. There is plenty on this topic here at DG and on the web as well as in many general gardening books.

"...as the old question goes "which comes first, the chicken or the egg," my question is which comes first the scape or the leaves?"
Depends entirely on the cultivar. Some send up the scape first, some the foliage first, some both at once. (What a new bulb does the first time it is planted might not follow what it does once it is established.) Time will tell.

I think you might enjoy the wealth of information in Veronica Read's _Hippeastrum:the gardener's amaryllis_ available for purchase online and through your local library. She covers it all and then some.

R.

Thanks for the quick reply Raydio, I now feel more confident going forward. By the way we both are in zone 7b even though I'm just outside Fayetteville. So when I decide to grow some bulbs outside I'll pick your brain again at a later date. Once again thanks.

Bob

Sure.

Do check out Read's book. I feel like you'd find it as inspiring as it is informative. You seem to be under the spell of the Hippis already and this book will only deepen your interest.

R.