I need some advice, please

I'm pretty new to this and need some advice. I have a Vera that bloomed, 3 lovely flowers. However, they are all dried up now, but it appears there is another "stalk" coming up. How do I deal with this? Do I dead head the old flowers and leave that stalk which is still green. Do I need to add fertilizer or anything to the pot? This one was planted in coir. I have 2 other varieties coming on strong. These are so lovely. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Cathy

Simply use your hands and break the wilted flowers off by their stalklets (pedicels) but do not cut the stem. Although you will not seriously disstress the bulb there would emerge a lot of plant juice out off the wound then, and this is not necessary.
Or, IF you perceive that the seed pods are swelling, then do nothing and observe and enjoy the proceedings of the seed pods. This process does, contrary to widespread opposite statements (which lack any experimental evidence) not weaken the bulb.
Add a little bit of fertilizer to the water (for example a liquid 6-3-6 ad 1 milliLiter per Liter of lukewarm water) EVERY time you water your plants. This is, btw, a technique applied by the veritable professionals, and it is assigned as (trying to find an English equivalent term) "watering fertilization" - I describe it with "yes, I do fertilize ALWAYS and NEVER". Behind this statement stands my idea that I use the fertilizer mainly in order to JUST compensate for the imbalanced content of nutrients of the blanc tap water. While this water contains majorly Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphate (besides other minerals the plant has little use for, like sodium, chloride and hydrogencarbonate) the fertilizer provides Nitrogen (mainly as nitrate), Phosphorous (as prim. Phosphate) and Potassium. These are added in a small quantity to compose together with the mineral ingredients of the water a balanced complete nutrient solution.
Next point, administer water but from below. I found out that Amaryllis, Amaryllids and other plants take great advantage out of this watering technique. (As to objections I wrote in another thread today).

This message was edited Feb 8, 2008 7:41 PM

Thank you for your response. I always water from the bottom, just makes better sense to me. LOL I will hit one of the Box store tomorrow for fertilizer. I'm afraid I am hooked! I want badly to get some of the fancy one's I've seen on the thread, they are all so beautiful. Thanks again for your help. Appreciate it. :)

Thank you doccat5

That is good news that you have internalized the sensefulness of a selected watering technique. It sdoes furthermore offer the advantage that you can apply spraying actions - with remedial effect (on the bulb's surface, against tarsonemid mites) and repellent effect (on the substrate surface, against fungus gnats and mites as well) respectively.
As to the fertilizer - I HOPE that these fertilizer formulas with particular high middle number (=phosphorous content) will gradually die out in the USA, too. I agree with Veronica who recommends a formula rich in Nitrogen, low in Phosphorous and very high in potassium, like 14-10-27 or, spoken more generally "nitrogen content approx 1.5 fold of the phosporous content and potassium content approx 2.5 fold of the phosporous content.
And, preferably no organic matters into containers on the windowsill. Pots are not the appropriate place for fermentative *LOL* and it is simply NOT necessary. Finally the roots take up minerals, and the plant prepares its organic matters itself by photosynthesis. On the other hand - organic fertilizers increase the risk of rotting bulbs.
Modern liquid fertilizers are so sophisticatedly formulated and they supply the plant with all what it needs. However, I do not oppose against certain organic additives which might be included in these but in tracer or semi tracer amounts, like vitamins or hormons.

Uh oh...birth of another Amaryllis addict.
...and no rehab anywhere for it.



:-)