Amaryllis

[ButterflyLady29]

Leave the baby where it is. In a couple years it will naturally separate from the mother bulb and can be repotted then.
While they may not need a dormant period I have found that they naturally seem to take some time out for rest.
As for fertilizer, if you planted them in potting soil they can wait until it's time to set them out when the weather warms. If you planted them in the coir pellet that comes in the kit you can fertilize now but at half or 1/4th the strength listed on the package.

What kind of worm did you have in the one bulb? Was it doing damage to the bulb or just in the soil?

[roseycheeks]

The worm was in the soil, I repotted it and no worm! I already separated the baby from its mama.

[roseycheeks]

I have something interesting happening to one of the amaryllis that I cut the leaves off of, it is growing a new leaf! There is also another one that looks like it started to grow a scape, but it has stopped and is just growing leaves.

[imafan26]

If I want my amaryllis to bloom at a certain time, I cut the leaves off and repot it and it usally will bloom in 6 weeks if the bulb is big enough. Sometimes the ones in the ground just need to be fed and have the weeds removed so it can get more light. Amaryllis will bloom even without the leaves. Interesting. I have never had an amaryllis change its mind and about growing a flower. Orchids yes, I have made them crazy using the wrong fertilizer at the wrong time and had them make a keiki and the keiky would flower at the same time. I have been better about not confusing them. Now, I just don't feed them much at all.

[roseycheeks]

I set my amaryllis in the window, they do not have leaves that can touch the window. It is supposed to be sunny and warmer so I think that is the best place for them. I watered the Draceana Warneckii by setting it in a sink of water and letting it sit there for a little while, I could tell it was done when I picked it up and felt the heavier weight. There is a total of 5 or 6 amaryllis plants in the windowsill, hopefully the sun will help them out.

[roseycheeks]

I just repotted my baby amaryllis, the pot I originally had it in was totally too big, so I went to my stash of smaller pots and repotted it. I mixed some sand in the potting mix to help it and watered it lightly and put it under my grow light. Here is it in its new home, tell me what you think of it.

[ButterflyLady29]

Why is it so low in the pot? I keep the top of the bulb above the rim of the pot.

[roseycheeks]

I could raise it up if you think that would help any. I have plenty of potting soil, I can add more.

[ButterflyLady29]

Amaryllis produce a huge root system. The more room they have for roots the better they grow. I would raise the bulb so it's closer to the rim. Don't add more soil on top, tip it out and add more soil before setting the bulb in the pot.

[roseycheeks]

I have new growth on my baby Amaryllis! I just repotted it with more soil so it is higher in the pot, so excited!

[roseycheeks]

Fast forward to May 30, here are all the Amaryllis except the baby, they seem to be doing all right, usually they get the red blotch and one year they got something called Mosaic disease which I have never heard of.

[roseycheeks]

It is now the middle of September, should I bring the Amaryllis in? They all survived except for the baby. I think our first frost will be in October, so please let me know so I can cut the leaves off. Can I use Cinnamon to help the scapes emerge better?

[ButterflyLady29]

Set them where the pots can dry out but where they still get light. Then when the nights start dropping to around 45*F bring them in and cut the leaves off. I usually dump them out of the pot and store them bare root but you can leave them in the pot. Set them some place cool and dry and let them rest for a while. Then when they show new growth give them some bone meal and bulb fertilizer. I have found that they are heavy feeders and if not fertilized enough the bulbs shrink instead of growing larger.

[roseycheeks]

It is the 22nd of September and I have put the amaryllis to "bed", should I get them out and sprinkle cinnamon on the neck where I cut the leaves off? They all had a lot of roots, so that may be a good thing. They were not soft or squishy and they did not stink so they were not rotted, let me know about the cinnamon, ok?

[ButterflyLady29]

I've never used it and never noticed any problems as long as I kept the plant dry until the cuts healed over.

[roseycheeks]

ok, thanks ButterflyLady29, it is going to be interesting to see if I can get them to rebloom for me this winter!

[roseycheeks]

Well another holiday season is upon us, I put several amaryllis into dormancy in September, I have been checking them and they are not growing any. Am I rushing it o is something wrong? Should I take one and pot it up and see what it does? I am not going to drive you kind folks crazy with a lot of posts, just would like to see if any are going to regrow for me.

[roseycheeks]

I took a good sized bulb and repotted it, now we play the waiting game!

[applestar]

I love your amaryllis posts -- every year you grow beautiful flowers. Good luck! hope they come back strong.

[ButterflyLady29]

Patience Grasshopper, patience. They will start growing when they are good and ready. It's not something you can rush. Getting them to grow isn't the trick. Getting them to bloom again, that is the trick. If the bulbs are still large and hard they will grow and most likely flower. Many times the bulb shrinks after flowering. Those flowers take a lot of energy and nutrients. Fertilizer and some bone meal added to their potting soil will help keep them in flowering condition.

[roseycheeks]

Thanks ButterflyLady29, patience is not something I am good at but will try!

[roseycheeks]

My hubby got me two more Amaryllis, one is Red Lion and the other is Star of Holland,what a surprise!

[roseycheeks]

Here is one of them growing!

[ButterflyLady29]

I am trying so hard to stay away from the amaryllis displays this year. When I was working I thought nothing of spending $20 or $25 on a single bulb. Sometimes I bought 2 or 3 a year. Now there is a whole storage tub in the living room full of planted bulbs and at least a dozen pots of them. Unfortunately while I was working I didn't have time to properly care for any of them. So this year I don't have spare $$$ for bulbs but I have the time to plant, water and fertilize them. I'm anxious to see which ones bloom this year. So many shrunk in size because of lack of proper care. Not really a bad thing since I sure don't have room for 60 or so grapefruit sized bulbs. But with proper care this year I should have a lovely display next year. I might even sell or give away some of the common ones so I have room for the more unusual ones.

I don't know if I can part with any of the papillon bulbs. But they do need to be separated and repotted.

[roseycheeks]

Are you. willing. to part with any short ones, or do you have any?

[ButterflyLady29]

Short ones? Sorry, I'm not quite understanding that. When I say they shrunk I mean the bulbs got progressively smaller. Went from orange to golf ball size. Some of them aren't much larger than large marbles. Not that the flower stalks got shorter or the flowers got smaller. Once they get some good fertilizer and potting soil the bulbs should plump back up. But it may be a few years before they get large enough to bloom again. But when I get around to repotting the papillon I'll let you know. I won't send it to you in the winter but once it gets warmer we'll see what it looks like. It doesn't go through a dormant cycle like other amaryllis and needs constant care just like any other houseplant. I have another that looks very similar but I have no idea which bulb that one is. The papillon is in it's own pot. Many of the others are just scattered and mixed up in a large tub. It really is a big mess. If I can get a good picture of the conglomeration I'll post it.

I have seen the miniature amaryllis in the garden center. Oh my goodness, the temptations are so very strong! But even then, those are pretty big bulbs, at least compared to my poor neglected babies.

[roseycheeks]

OK, I meant the Mimi's. The one is growing good, but the other one has not done much and none of the ones from last are doing anything at all. No new growth at all.

[ButterflyLady29]

Sometimes they take a while to wake up. Even in the tub I've got some that are not showing any sign of growth. As long as the bulbs are still solid (not mushy when you gently squeeze them) they have the potential for growth. If they aren't growing they don't need much water so try to just keep the soil from drying out completely. Usually the slow growers are the ones that send up a flower stalk first so you don't want to give them too much water.

[roseycheeks]

Good news! The one that I said was not doing anything is starting to wake up! It has a little bit peeking up on the other side, so something is happening. I won't have any blooms for Christmas, but whenever they bloom it will be beautiful!

[roseycheeks]

What does it mean when the bulb sends up leaves first?

[roseycheeks]

Here is the two Amaryllis plants that I have, they are both new and my hubby got them from Lowe's, I am not sure which is which right now but one is a Red Lion and one is Star of Holland. The one has grown nothing but leaves as you can tell and the other one has a reddish color to its stem. Got a question, just because it grows leaves first does not mean it won't flower, right?

[ButterflyLady29]

Not necessarily. I've got one that is just now sending up a bud but the leaves grew over a month ago.

The other picture is the tub of amaryllis bulbs.

[ButterflyLady29]

I'm still trying to get hubby to put lights on the shelves. Everything is leaning quite a bit because the ones in back don't get enough light. But the nice thing about amaryllis is that they are so forgiving in that regard. As long as they get good strong light and fertilizer during the warmer months they grow and flower the next year.

[roseycheeks]

Have you ever heard of using hydrogen peroxide mixed with water to kill fungus gnats?

[ButterflyLady29]

Never heard of using peroxide to kill fungus gnats. Just did a little search and some say it works, others say it doesn't. I guess it won't hurt to try it. I wonder if it will get rid of mealy bugs as well. I've had a lot of trouble with them since I brought some home on some clearanced orchids.

I was at the thrift store today and ran across an amaryllis bulb in a nice glazed ceramic pot for only 50 cents! The bulb looked dead but was firm at the bottom. When I got it home I peeled off the dry skin and found the leaves were just starting to come up. I tore a tip off one but it will recover. Now I just need to get it potted up and set under a light.

Hubby put the light on my plant rack over the weekend. So now the plants on the shelf should start standing straighter and get darker leaves.

[roseycheeks]

The one that has the flower stalk is stating to open, so anxious to see what it is going to be! Nothing but leaves on the other one though.

[ButterflyLady29]

Bad news about the peroxide, it didn't kill the aphids on my ornamental sweet potatoes and it burned the leaves on the pineapple sage and the fern mayii next to them. This was 3% peroxide diluted with water at a 3 to1 ratio. It doesn't seem to harm the amaryllis but I haven't had a chance to check the ones in the tub for mealy bugs to rate the effectiveness as an insecticide. And I still see fungus gnats flying around despite the tub and other nearby plants being dry enough to wilt.

[pow wow]

I usually don't take my Amaryllis bulbs out of storage until the end of January but I had a couple that were determined to wake up so I watered them and put them upstairs.

[applestar]

Beautiful! I like the graduated shades and darker outlined petals.

[roseycheeks]

The bulbs that I put into dormancy are not doing anything, Should I toss them out or keep them? I keep them on the floor where it is cool, and dark but nothing so far. And the one that I potted up from last summer does not have any growth on it at all. What should I do?