Amaryllis

It's that time of year again...time to try to get the amaryllis to bloom again. There's a lot of information out there on how to grow these things, all far too contradictory to synthesize: pot in sterile soil; pot in peat moss; pot in manure-amended soil; water once and only once; water every week; grow in cool temps, then warm when the bulb blossoms; keep cool when the bulb blossoms to prolong bloom; plant outside in summer to renew the bulb; keep in the pot in summer to avoid root disturbance; wait until the plant goes dormant before bringing it indoors to rest for a few months before forcing; don't wait until dormancy, but bring it indoors when the weather cools.

My head hurts.

I thought I'd give a couple of amaryllis bulbs a go last winter, the classic 'Appleblossom'. They were on sale chez Sam Walton in a pot+soil+bulb "kit". Followed the directions: "soil" was peat moss with a moistening agent; bulb seemed in good condition; it said to keep it watered. Several weeks later, lots of foliage, no blooms. I skim through various amaryllis how-to guides, all of which are (amazingly) consistent in reporting that the bloom stalk appears before the foliage...so no blooms that year. Unpotted bulbs went into the garden in late spring, never went dormant, grew a lot of roots, not too much foliage. My heart sinks when I read this from Katharine White's Onward and Upward in the Garden:

Hamilton P. Traub's Amaryllis Manual (Macmillan, 1958) tells me that "the achievement of nine leaves will mean that three new inflorescences will be initiated between the bulb scales--one after each third leaf." .... I find that one of my amaryllis plants, a last year's salmon Warmenhoven from White Flower Farm, has nine leaves, which is good; my two reds have seven leaves each, which is fair; the fourth, an ancient white, has only five--very poor.

By this calculation, I can only expect one "inflorescence" from one of the plants, and two-thirds of an inflorescence in the other. And, of course, they never went dormant. And, of course, they could not be dug out in the fall without having their roots disturbed. And, giving them the required two-to-three month rest period would mean that they'll come into bloom around...May Day?

Sigh.

So I'll try, try again this year. I spent my "Jung bucks" (frequent flyer miles for the gardening set) this past weekend and picked up a couple of amaryllis bulbs from McClure & Zimmerman. One has already pushed out a flower stem...and we'll see about the other. I've gone ahead and stubbornly potted last year's bulbs to see if they'll do anything. My cultural tack this time: soilless potting mix with time-release fertilizer; I'm watering once, only once (I dunno, it just sounds good); I'm keeping them in a coolish room--the rooms where they'll be moved to (where we'll want the blooms to be seen) will be warmer. I'll bury them in-pot in the garden this summer, and will pull them in, dormant or not, on Labor Day, and will throw them in the mini-fridge for ten weeks.

Wish me luck. Or give me the following good advice: next time, buy fresh bulbs for full price.

Onward and Upward in the Garden. Katharine S. White. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979. ISBN 0807085618 (for the recent 2002 reissue).

Comments

[Kathy]

One thing you might infer from the conflicting advice is that different things work for different people, so you are right to try your own method. You might also research the plant's native climate for insight into its needs. But if amaryllis are forced into bloom like the narcissus are, then blooming at Christmas is not natural for them and they won't do it without special techniques that I am not privy to.It is my understanding that amaryllis either have to be a special kind or get special treatment to bloom around Christmas . . . except for the first year, mine always bloom in late March, just around crocus time. (For bloom around Christmas, I find Christmas cactus to be much more reliable. Also paperwhite narcissus--but the fragrance gives some people a headache.)

IMHO,I don't think it matters what temperature the air is, but the soil must be warm to get them out of dormancy. I use the same heat mat that I use for starting seeds. Once they are up out of the pot, they like it warm. When they bloom, you put them in a cooler room to slow down their metabolism and prolong the show. (I know, you want to put them in a warmer room then. The blooms just won't last as long.) After they are done blooming, the more light they get on their leaves, the better, because the more light, the more food produced to increase the size of the bulb and its ability to make flowers. For this reason, I put them outside after all danger of frost, breaking them in slowly to the stronger light and wind, etc. I have kept them in the pot and planted them in the ground. What makes the most difference is the richness of the soil and frequency of watering, so if you want to keep them in a pot, I would pot them on to the next size pot at this point, using good quality potting mix. In a nutshell, they like it bright, warm, moist, and rich. To make the most flowers, they need lots of roots and lots of leaves.

In the fall, I let the frost knock them down, then dig them up (or bring them in). I read somewhere that if they get frosted they do something better (bloom? go into dormancy? get out of dormancy?) but now I forget what. Perhaps because I dwell in a cool, drafty, under-insulated house, or perhaps because it is the nature of the plant, or perhaps my technique is faulty, but I never get my amaryllis to bloom before March. So pick over my technique for whatever will help, and discard whatever doesn't seem to apply.

[Bookish Gardener]

Many thanks, Kathy. I find that the best advice is exactly of the kind that you offer--"here's what worked for me". Although I always take advice with a grain of "your results may vary", what you say makes a ton of sense. We'll give it a go! I'll let you know how it turns out.