Need advice.

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Maggie

Maggie

New Member
I found a brown bag in my closet today and I noticed something white sticking out of it.:eek: Well when I opened it I found 3 amarylisses blubs all with white leaves. One of them is around 12" long the other 2 about 4". Should I go ahead and pot them or cut the leaves off and wait until spring and pot them to go outside. I have had them bloom in the spring but I don't remember when I potted them. It might have been the year that I got a second set of blooms. Not that I'm forgetful but I just can't remember:D:D:D
 
Pot them now... In a Well Draining Compost.... The Leaves will turn Green once they get som light...
 
My first response would be plant them now: but then if I recall correctly (I have never grown them or know anyone personally that has, this is only what I recall when reading about other bulbs and tubers etc) they need to go through that dormancy period for an X amount of weeks I think it was 16 I dont think it was 8, in order to complete it's cycle I would advise to read what others do that live in a similar/ environment ( zone) as you.
I have some knowledge of several other bulbs and I can state they need to go thru thier natural cycle and if they didnt they didnt bloom I also read that some simply do not bloom for a 2 or more seasons if they didnt have the correct amount of
*environment *( soil,sun hours etc) they require for the following year bloom.
Now as I stated I do not or have not grown any.
Just a thought to research, I will see if I can recall where I read that from so I can be certain I know what I am talking about as far as Amaryllis bulbs.I know they require a little different knowledge and care then what I grow, a bit more tending and monitoring.

2cents..
Kale:)
 
I have an Apple Blossom that does not seem to need a rest period!
Actually all of the various cultivars do not need a rest period and will continue to bloom every 2 to 3 months...I know this because all of the ones I have do!
I give them a rest period only because I get tired of them!!!

Maggie
Pot them up and gradually move them into brighter light so you wont scorch the leaves. The leaves will green up to tell you when to move them to there prefered amount of light, which is full to partial sun!
Dont forget to fertilize them once they settle in!
If I had the room inside I would have mine all sitting in the window growing new leaves to fatten up the bulbs!
 
Wow Ron, Did I understand you corectly?
Are you stating that your amaryllis bulbs go from outdoors (in a pot?) spring bloom to indoor forcing "without a low temp stage" for 3 months or so and you still get blooms!
Do they leave the pot they were in (I'm guessing they were potted) and bagged for any length of time? Where do you keep them when you are tired of looking at them briefly?
Are they kept in the same pot as when they bloomed in Spring for you?
Forcing phase of cold temps are not needed?
Like I stated above,I have never grown them. I have forced bulbs before successfully; but this is rather interesting,sure could use some blooms indoors..without all that cold time out. I was under the impression they all needed to be forced going through that 14-16 week cold period from Oct to the last week of December bring them in from cold temps, pot (if not already) water and ease more lighting as time goes by, bloom should occur in January.
What other bulbs will this work with!? Having no dormancy (16week period of lower temps) Will this cause no blooms come Spring? This is rather interesting!
I can't wait to hear this...Are you sure you are not subjecting them to temps below 48deg while you take a break from them? You have me very curious.
Thank you!

Maggie, very important; what are the temps in that closet you found them sitting in a bag?
Next, are you just going to pot them, water and ease them into the lighting?
If so I would love to know how progress comes along.

Kale:)
 
When I used to mess with Amyryllis bulbs..

I could get them to bloom in early summer..let them "die off"

remove from pot let dry in a paper bag till July.
put the bag in the bottm of my refridgerator till mid October

repot them and have blooms around Christmas time then let them die off
putting the pot in a protected spot outside and they would bloom again in early summer
but I haven't done that in years..and it only seemed to work on the "Apple Blossom"
 
Bluewolf, Very similar to the way I have gotten blooms over winter.
I can't wait to hear what Ron does!
My class didn't have the bulbs for the forcing until Sept, when they were in the gardening centers again. So we went with October to start the cold time out.. Our bloom time varied from late January to late Feb and to prolong blooms, some placed in cooler darker spot after they ate dinner and their blooms lasted weeks longer.
It was a very interesting project we did.The ones that didn't bloom are the ones that one person didn't have the heart to let get chilled below her 65deg or so, her room temps.

Kale:)
 
When we were California...I would take mine outdoors for the spring and summer...then late fall bring them in and they bloomed over and over...sadly I had to leave them all when we sold th eplace and moved back to Oregon
 
I've never removed my amaryllis from there pots, after they bloom I just move them to the basement until spring then they go out side to the shade house, come fall I move them back to the basement until the last week of nov. when they show some new growth. This what I get every year
White Christmas and Susan

redandwhite.jpg
 
Those are so pretty GardenBear. I really like the white one.
Well I potted mine up in some mircale-gro. It was white and now its showing some green. I'll wait and see what it does. If it hasn't bloomed by spring I'll set it outside and start fertilizing it until fall and then start over again.
 
Wow GardenBear! They are stunning! What lighting do they get during the day?
How old are they and did you get blooms the first season?

Kale:)
 
Bear those are wonderful to see...

I never pulled them form their pots either...after then bloomed i would set th eplants out side...and leave them until I stared to see buds...really have no clue what the steady temps were Kale...but it was a gardening zone 8/9...rare to even freeze
 
Kale, there in a south kitchen window, the only light the really get in day light, the light you see in the pic is from the lamp below with a 30 wt bulb, both bloomed the first season I got them the flowers were small and the color wasn't as nice as they are now, White Christmas is about 6 yr old and Susan is some where's around 10 yrs old,there both in 8 inch pots with about a inch of space around them, so I won't have to repot them for a year or two I'm still waiting on 5 more to bloom this season, I will be on the search for new colors right after the New year when they go on sale at the garden center. the only thing I did wrong with the last 5 is I lost the tags, I do have pic of them so as the bloom I can make new tags,when taking pic of your plants make sure you get the pot in the pic it will help with the ID, each pot looks just a little diff. so if you ID the pot you got your ID on the plant. I will post pic when the others bloom.

Bear
 
You can actually force bloom most bulbs. Amyryllis can be placed in a container with glass beads or stones that are just covered in water. In other words fill a container with stones or glass beads. Just add enough water to cover the beads, set the bulb root side on top of the beads and watch it grow. Make sure to keep enough water in the stones, as the roots grow to the water you need less water, you don't want healthy roots sitting in too much water. If the water clouds or turns colors just rinse the container , stones and roots by flushing with fresh water. Do not pull the plant out of the stones. Never use softened water always plain water. This makes a wonderful table decoration especially in winter when nothing is blooming outside. The warmth of the house will bring about a natural growth pattern. Keep the plant near a window or grow light and watch the magic! Then when the plant has bloomed out, Place in a paper bag in you fridge and wait till your regular spring planting time. Place outside in garden or pot and it will bloom again!
 
You guys got it all wrong!
Amaryllis are tropical (Except for some of the newer varieties)
They do not need a rest period, nor do they need a cold period!
You can grow them year round in a sunny or bright window!
They all need to develop leaves, the more the better in order to bloom! Mine even develop two or three flowering stems at one time, or in succession and repeat every three to 4 months depending on cultivar!
I leave mine in their pots from year to year. I wash out an inch of the old soil and top dress with fresh!
I fertilize mine regularly, every other week with a water soluable fert such as 10-30-15 at half strength!
The spend the summer (from mid spring to late October outdoors in sunny spot with some afternoon shade.
I have not repotted mine nor have I divided the bulbs and hae several per pot!
They love to be crowdedin their pots, so fertilizing them is really important!
I water them once the soil surface dries out and give them a good flushing until the water runs out the bottom to remove excess salts!
The only time I give them a rest period is when I get tired of them and I need a break from them from late October-December! Otherwise they are in a sunny window rather then in the dark in the basement!

So, get with it guys and read up on their culture and care and you will be successful and will have terrificly blooming amaryllis year round!
You will also have them for many, many years too!
 
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