Why no foliage?

Just curious: Why is foliage so late to appear on some amaryllis? (Does one call it foliage when referring to a bulb? Leaves? ) My mom has one that has finished blooming and there is still no green nor signs of it. My "Wedding Dance" has had glorious blooms for quite some time, but the leaves are only now emerging behind a second scape, and very slowly at that. Other of my amaryllis bulbs have behaved differently.

Is it the variety? Conditions? Care?

Just wondering how these glorious bulbs operate.

I understand your concern, but there may be no reason for it. And you're right: the order of foliage, bloom, and rooting can fall in any order. I have several going now that are blooming without producing foliage, producing just tips, or producing both.

I haven't heard that Wedding Dance produces foliage after blooming, but that might just be a characteristic of it. If the emerging foliage doesn't keep growing, it might be due to something going on culturally. If it keeps on going, both your bulb and your mother's, enjoy.

Some new bulbs will behave differently than others due to differences beyond our control--one with no old roots remaining may be slow to difficult to get going while one with a good set might take right off.

The thing I would be looking for, is the bulb growing healthy roots. Sometimes a gentle wiggle or tug that meets with resistance means your bulb is rooting. Sometimes this can be misleading if the bulb is deeply planted--the bulb is just settled in and the surrounding soil is holding it firm. You can check for that by *carefully* removing surface soil to see if there are roots growing.

R.