How to care for Amaryllis?

[TomatoNut95]

Yesterday I bought my annual Amaryllis bulb. It's a tough decision each year, because I'm never sure what color to get. (As expensive as they are, I only choose one) I normally get red, but this year I chose pink, and pink must have been the most popular because there were only two bulbs of it left. This bulb has two 'bulblets' on it, so that kinda made it a three-for-one sale.

The reason for this thread is, another one of my traditions after 'Buying the Annual Amaryllis' is 'Killing or Losing the Annual Amaryllis after Putting it Outside'. Just once I'd love to get my Amaryllis bulb to re-bloom the following Christmas! I tell myself that each year, but does it happen? No. After putting the potted bulb outside on the backporch after frost is over, and after the foliage dies, the bulb either rots, or gets lost. Last years bulb is already missing. I looked for it, but all I found was the pot, and my spring(tulip and hyacinth) bulbs. Well, I don't want it to happen again! This year, I want to ACTUALLY see if this one will re-bloom the following year,(I said last year about the now missing bulb...) and grow out its 'bulblets'. Here are my questions:

1. I know I should place the potted bulb outside after frost time has past. But should I put it in the sun, or keep in indirect light all summer?

2. Should I fertilize the bulb? If so, how often? Or should I place just a teensy, weensy bit of bone meal in the pot I plant the bulb in?

3. After the foliage has died down naturally, is that when I should remove the bulb from the pot and bring the bulb indoors?

4. Just a thought...do Amaryllises need a winter? If so, should I stick the bulb in the refrigerator during the late-summer months to get it to bloom by November or December?

5. Since this bulb has bulblets- when should I remove the babies? Should they slip off easily when they're ready to be separated from the parent bulb?

[imafan26]

My conditions are different from yours so I can only tell you what I do.
Amaryllis and gladiolas are perennials in frost free climates. They only have to be divided when the clump surrounding the mother bulb gets too tight. Size matters with both amaryllis and glads. The cormels or bublets need to be large enough to be able to bloom. It takes 2-3 years for an amaryllis to be more than 3 inches in diameter and be able to bloom. Cormels take about 2 years before they are ready to bloom.

I do plant amaryllis in full sun. They can grow in pots, but they do not like to be restricted so a 3 gallon pot for one large bulb and to accommodate a couple of young bulbs until they are ready to be separated. The soil needs to be well drained.
I add about 4 inches of compost to the soil when I plant the bed. My soil is red clay. My soil tests only indicate that nitrogen is needed and my phosphorus is extremely high, so I don't fertilize much. Bulbs don't like a lot of nitrogen, unless you want to grow bulbs at the expense of blooms. Once they are established, they don't need a lot of water and can generally live on rain in the rainy season and once a week deep watering in summer. If the bulbs are big enough, you can force it to bloom at a particular time by cutting all of the leaves off about 6 weeks before you want it to bloom. While the leaves are growing it is better to give them some slow nitrogen. I admit, I am hit or miss on this. My bulbs don't bloom well if they are too tight, they don't have long leaves, and/or I neglect watering them for too long. They still manage to survive despite all of this abuse.

Amaryllis hybrids cross easily, but the offspring will revert to the species type of naked lady. For this reason, I only grow Red Lion. My neighbor grows a beautiful picotee amaryllis and I was going to ask for some bulbs, but I can enjoy them every time they bloom anyway and I would still have to keep some distance between them and the Red Lion.

https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/how-to- ... llis-bulbs

[TomatoNut95]

Thanks for the advice, @Imafan! I hope to good with this one. So low release nitrogen. Providing bone meal would be better then my watering with Miracle Gro once a month?

[imafan26]

Miracle grow contains fast release fertilizer. Bone meal releases slower. I prefer a complete fertilizer with low numbers that releases at a regular rate. I usually use osmocote or nutricote. They are good for either 100 or 200 days depending on type.

[TomatoNut95]

The bone meal says 6-8-0. So I will go with the bone meal then. And you said you plant your Amaryllis in the sun. But after mine has been in indirect sunlight for months, do I need to 'harden it off' before I leave the bulb in full sun all day? Or do you not have to do that to bulbs?

(BTW, I updated my orchid thread if you would like to see how it's doin'.)

[TomatoNut95]

My amaryllis is about to open! Thankfully there is another bud down in there so I'll have another flower closer to Christmas! Or Thanksgiving.

[imafan26]

All plants that are growing in low light need to be hardened off. The good thing is that the winter sun is much milder than summer sun so it is easier to move plants at this time in frost free areas. The rest of you have to move or protect tender plants.

[TomatoNut95]

Thanks for responding, @imafan, but there was no need to move my post; I was merely showing it to @applestar.
I will probably move the amaryllis outside in March after danger of frost is gone. I'll give it morning sun by leaving it on the backporch. Should I harden it to give full sun all day, or just morning sun until the foliage dies naturally? After the foliage dies, then I should pull up the bulb and put it in a paper bag in the house until October or November to plant again, right?

[applestar]

That was meeee. Sorry about that. I did see it, and was happy to see it was on track for blooming, but I thought you were posting randomly when I knew you had this thread going about your amaryllis.

(FWIW — I go back to on-going threads about my various plants all the time, and post updates — then later on, even years later, I can see the progress the plant has followed over time...)

[TomatoNut95]

Oh, ok! I apologize, @imafan. Well then, here is the pic I took of it this morning. It's not completely open, maybe it will when I get home from work. The amaryllis box says if I place the blooming plant in a colder room at night, the blooms will last longer. I'll see if that works; I'll put it in my freezer/junk room. It stays cold in there at night since no heat vent was installed in that room.