Amaryllis questions

[desertcat]

Since it's almost time to put my amarylis in winter storage, I decided it was time for a couple of those questions that make everybody just shrug!

I've been saving my bulbs for about 3 yrs now. All bloomed when purchased. Last year they all produced leaves, but only a few bloomed. This year I've had great leaf growth but had no flowers. I've been potting them in a commercial potting mix and keeping them outside in a partial sun location for the warm part of the summer. Have given them a little fertilizer on and off. In the fall, I remove from pots, allow the foliage to dry out and store the bulbs in a box in an unheated closet. Temps get pretty chilly, but stay above freezing. Repot in spring when I start to see new growth.

The question is what do I need to do to get them to bloom? I realize I should have asked months ago, but never got around to it. Also realize that I may be too late to affect next season, but I'd really like for these guys to bloom. I've got over a dozen and they could be spectacular!

 

[897tgigvib]

Howdy!

When I worked at the greenhouse nursery in Montana, my boss Roxi had her personal Amaryllis in the greenhouse along with some of her other hobby plants. She'd only rarely sell one, only if the customer really really wanted to buy one of them.

She pretty much kept them in leaf as long as possible in the greenhouse after bringing them in about the time of first frost. Some years they'd actually get touched by a sudden light frost, and I'd get there while she'd be bringing them in all worried about them. They'd be ok. We'd keep them on the top of the southern facing shelf, on the sunrise side, or somewhere near there as room permitted. As I recall, they'd stay in leaf until around December. I'd come to work, and she'd be repotting them after the leaves browned. She used Osmocote and Bone Meal mixed in the potting soil. Oh! I'd be cleaning the pots outside if it was warm enough in the afternoon. Warm enough in Montana in December would be somewhere above 32, at least in the sun. :happy_flower <<<Does this look like a chilly sun?
Oh yes, after repotting them, she'd put, (oh shoot...brain freeze...what's that porous white fluffy absorbent rock called?...PERLITE!)...she'd put a layer of that on the top. She also mixed some into the potting soil. (For her cactus she'd mix about 50% perlite in.) In winter in a greenhouse that is kept cool, humidity is important to avoid. The Amaryllis especially only got enough moisture to keep them from dessicating, but by February they'd all be growing.
Another thing I remember about her Amarylis is that a few of them were reversed or offset to the seasons in the greenhouse. They were her babies, and I only assisted or did with them as she told me.

She also had some Amarylis relatives. One of them was very prolific and very tender, only ever kept in the greenhouse. These had pretty much only orangey/scarlet blooms and were evergreen. By the time I moved she was even having too many of them.

I think it is Brent and Becky's bulb company that has a great Amarylis selection. According to them, there are some varieties and the wild Papillion kinds that are outdoors hardy in Virginia.

I am sure no expert on them, but just trying to pass on what I saw my boss doing with hers.

 

[catjac1975]

I bring my amaryllis back with very little fuss. I keep them green indoors until the warm weather comes fertilizing with a liquid fertilizer. I keep them outdoors all summer and bring them in as late as possible before frost. I stop watering them until the leaves dry up completely, which takes quite a bit of time. I then start watering them again, add potting mix or coir if necessary and the bloom cycle starts all over. I never get them blooming for Christmas, but I don't care about that.

 

[desertcat]

Yep, it doesn't matter to me when they bloom, either. I'd just really like to see flowers!

I'll try leaving them in the pots until they go brown. That seems to be the only thing I'm doing differently right now. Of course now I'm going to NEED a greenhouse...or more skylights!

Life was much simpler before I decided to do houseplants!

 

[897tgigvib]

One of the shops in town, a small supply shop, has the coolest and most beautiful collection of houseplants they keep around their front counter. Just bright interior light about 6 feet from the front window that faces the rising sun. They get morning sun for about an hour. Rex Begonia that is all over the place, a couple Ficus, Prayer plants, Philodendron, some things nobody knows what they are...They drape bright little beaded doodads in there among them. One time I thought there was a bright blue flower in the Ficus, but it was a glass jewel! Real cool though.

:rainbow-sun

 

[catjac1975]

I think that I read that they should be left in the pots-that they do not like being disturbed. However, my memory may be inaccurate because that does not line up with how new bulbs are purchased. I have researched how to get the bulbs to grow larger more quickly and can't get any good info. I have started amaryllis from seed and have had several bloom. It takes a long time to get them to bloom. I'm sure the pros can get the bulbs to grow larger, and faster. I wish they would share that info somewhere. I use orchid fertilizer on them.

Yep, it doesn't matter to me when they bloom, either. I'd just really like to see flowers!

I'll try leaving them in the pots until they go brown. That seems to be the only thing I'm doing differently right now. Of course now I'm going to NEED a greenhouse...or more skylights!

Life was much simpler before I decided to do houseplants!

 

[baymule]

Mine just stay in the flowerbeds all the time. Never dig them up, never bring them in. They aren't the new really showy pretty ones, just the plain red, probably the old time amaryllis the big pretty ones were originally bred from.

 

[catjac1975]

So do they just rebloom every year? Could you also grow the fancy hybrids in the garden? Fun, fun, fun!

Mine just stay in the flowerbeds all the time. Never dig them up, never bring them in. They aren't the new really showy pretty ones, just the plain red, probably the old time amaryllis the big pretty ones were originally bred from.

 

[baymule]

So do they just rebloom every year? Could you also grow the fancy hybrids in the garden? Fun, fun, fun!

Mine just stay in the flowerbeds all the time. Never dig them up, never bring them in. They aren't the new really showy pretty ones, just the plain red, probably the old time amaryllis the big pretty ones were originally bred from.

I see the hybrids in other peoples yards, so yep, I could grow the fancy hybrids too! Amaryllis are known for no-low care evergreen plants that you don't have to do anything to and get rewarded in spring with beautiful blooms. Probably something to do with the climate..........jus' sayin'........

 

[chris09]

desertcat,

How much bigger is your pot than the bulb? The pot should be 3" bigger than the bulb that will give a 1-1/2" head room around the bulb. (Amaryllis like to be a little tight in there pot) Also how deep are you planting?

Chris