warming the soil

ghostrider · Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:06 pm

All the pages that I go to say if the Amaryllis does not start growing to warm the soil, just how do I go about doing that? My refrigerator has a freezer up top so it is not warm and the television does not have enough room for a pot to sit on it. I have the clamp on light on it right now, it is aimed to the lower part of the container, it is about 3 1/2 inches away from the pot. The container is getting warm but I don't know about the soil. I have a heating pad but I don't know if that would help or not. Any suggestions would be helpful. :?

cynthia_h · Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:59 pm

Have you felt the top of the fridge/freezer with your hand? It might be significantly warmer than you expect. Many gardeners germinate seeds on top of the fridge!

If, however, yours isn't very warm, then a heating pad set on the lowest setting may do the job. Make sure the lowest setting *is* low, though, and if it seems warmer than adviseable, put a towel between the heating pad and the amaryllis's "home."

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

rainbowgardener · Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:53 am

Water with warm water!

ghostrider · Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:13 pm

I had a way to warm the soil and could not figure it out! DUH! We have a pellet stove and my hubby shut it off when he left, now the front part stays hot for quite a while, but the back part just stays nice and toasty warm. I can put my hands on it and leave them there and not get burnt, so I put the bulbs there for 1/2 hour or should I just leave them there till it cools down completely and then move them back to the book case?