Flower Gardens

» Cottage_Garden - Amaryllis Care and Rebloom

In response to Leaves and no leaves posted by sl1955:

I have written a couple of articles about amaryllis care, maybe you will find some tips .... Here is How to Rebloom an Amaryllis Bulb. It also includes links to the others.

:)

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» Keystone72 - Amaryllis not blooming

Five years ago I was given several bulbs called native amaryllis. The bloom is orange. However, while these bulbs have multiplied they have never bloomed in my yard (north central Florida) but they bloom every year in the yard of the person giving me the blubs. I get nice straps but no blooms. Last year I dug several of these bulbs and put them into pots. The roots grow out the bottom of the pots and into the ground but they also do no bloom. My hybred Amaryllis bulbs bloom every year. What is the problem and what can I do about it?

-- posted by Keystone72

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» Cottage_Garden - Florida Amaryllis not blooming

In response to Amaryllis not blooming posted by Keystone72:
Based on your description I am not sure what the problem would be -- certainly you must know how to grow amaryllis int he garden if your hybrids are doing well.
To troubleshoot, I would suggest checking that they receive ample sunlight as shaded conditions could cause foliage and no flowers. Excess shade is probably the most common reason for lack of bloom.
Also check that the soil fertility is adequate but not excessive -- an oversupply of nitrogen might cause excessive foliage at the expense of flowering.
FOr most amaryllis, the soil should drain well. Oddly, there are some amaryllis relatives that like a damper soil. You might check with the person who gave you the bulbs to see what type of soil they are growing in originally and see if it is similar or different to where you planted yours.
Too, if you took very small offsets they might need several years to settle in and bloom for you. I would expect blooms by now, but if the growing site is less than optimal and hte bulbs were very immature, the combination might cause delay.
Check that they are not planted too deeply.
Finally, make sure the leaves are growing fully and maturing completely before you remove them, the foliage is what strengthens the bulb.
Lastly, I am not certain where you are located in Florida but if you are growing much further north in a colder area than where the bulbs came from, that might also make a difference in their performance.
I hope this helps you figure out the mystery!

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» strong76 - Amaryllis

I am getting married at the end of September 2008. I want to grow amaryllis for centerpieces and boquets at my wedding. Can you give me any ideas on how I can do this? If I buy them now and grow them indoors will they rebloom before September? Can I store them in the fridge? Can I buy them next summer to plan before the wedding? will it be expensive to do that? I live in Minnesota so I will have to grow them indoors. Please let me know if you have any ideas or solutions. Or if this is even possible!

Thanks

-- posted by strong76

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» Cottage_Garden - Force amaryllis for fall bloom

In response to Amaryllis posted by strong76:
Hi jamie! Ummmm, unfortunately I don't really think this is going to work out too well. To understand why I am worried about your plan, it might help to know how these bulbs normally work.

Amaryllis planted year round in the garden (in warm climates like FLorida) normally bloom in the spring. When we grow them inside as container plants we force them -- or trick them -- into blooming for the holidays. So the bulbs you buy for Christmas blooms have been dug and specially prepared for blooming in that time frame. When we keep them from year to year, we maintain the same forcing schedule because they only bloom once a year.

The bulbs need a long growing season to recover after each bloom period. During this growing season, they produce lots of leaves. The foliage is what refuels the bulb so it has strength to bloom again the next year.

It takes months of growing the foliage, and then usually about two months of "rest" before the bulb is ready to kick in and grow and bloom again. Unlike daffodils or tulips, the rest period is not a chilling period. Instead, it is cool and dry -- about 55 degrees or so. This typically causes the foliage to die back completely.

If the growing time frame is too short, the bulb is short changed on energy and won't be able to bloom. If the rest period is skipped or too short, the bulb won't bloom. Instead, it produces foliage but is too weak to bloom again.

Assume your bulb has a good long growing season and then a nice long rest of about two months duration, and then it is restarted into active growth. Now it can be anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks or so from restarting it until it blooms. Under home growing conditions, the length of time from restart to bloom is sort of unpredictable. Also, some varieties bloom earlier and some are naturally slower.

Working with a target of early fall bloom date, I'm concerned there just isn't enough time for the foliage to grow, then rest the bulb, then get it restarted into active growth and wait for it to bloom.

Storing it for months and months before replanting is not feasible -- the bulbs are living things and can only be out of the ground for so long before they deteriorate in quality.

In addition, timing the bloom period is iffy under the best of conditions.... You would need to start multiple batches about a week apart to be assured of having flowers on the big day.

Now, I wonder if you might be able to take bulbs grown in the southern hemisphere and thus running on the opposite seasonal schedule, then force them accordingly? But, I believe most of the amaryllis sold in the US come from the Netherlands so it might be really difficult to import such a thing.

If you are willing to source these through a florist, they might be able to do it for you? Or they might be able to have some specially custom grown on contract for you?

All in all, you might want to consider something else that is more seasonal? Talk to your florist and see what would be available at that time of year. Maybe they could obtain cutflower amaryllis, or live orchids (these are being done in the lab now and very inexpensive compared to "the old days"), or colorful potted bromeliads instead?

There are so many possibilities they can probably show you. I would really suggest you look into some alternatives that might be more easily achieved or at least more reliable. For a big day like a wedding, I always think the bride has more important things to worry about than holding her breath whether or not the flowers will be in bloom that particular day, let alone the possibility of crop failure! Yikes!

I am sorry I can't be more encouraging about this but I hope it helps you with your planning.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» strong76 - Force amaryllis for fall bloom

In response to Force amaryllis for fall bloom posted by Cottage_Garden:

Thanks Barbara. I appreciate your honesty because you are right I don't want to worry about if I will have flowers or not for the wedding. I will look into some other options.

-- posted by strong76

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» Cottage_Garden - growing wedding flowers

In response to Force amaryllis for fall bloom posted by strong76:

Your question made me think more about this kind of flower problem -- growing flowers for a wedding. I came up with a few tips for planning the flowers for a garden wedding, maybe they will be useful to folks planning an outdoor ceremony... Garden Wedding Tips

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» myguinness - amaryllis

Hi. I purchased a home 2 years ago with amaryllis in the front flower beds. I have a lot in the front. They bloomed last year and the year before a red bloom. I didn't do anything and this year a strange white flower came up. I don't know how to care for the amaryllis, should I be digging them up and separating them? Please let me know if you can help me with my amaryllis. Thanks! Colleen

-- posted by myguinness

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» Cottage_Garden - garden amaryllis care

In response to amaryllis posted by myguinness:

Amaryllis usually can be left in place for many many years without dividing. In general, it is better not to disturb them.

If they eventually get too crowded (meaning they are cram packed together and the bulbs are all small with weak foliage so they are no longer strong enough to bloom) then you could lift them and separate and replant. Be sure to plant shallow, barely cover with soil -- and set them about a foot apart. If you do decide they need dividing, wait and dig/replant in the fall when the foliage dies back.

Based on your description I am not sure exactly what happened with your amaryllis. If the white flowers seem to be amaryllis and are mixed in with the red ones, they could be amaryllis seedlings or maybe some of the bulbs just finally reached blooming size and began to flower for the first time.

If they are not amaryllis flowers, then maybe you have some narcissus or some other type of bulb or flower mixed in with the amaryllis. That's not really a problem, it adds to the display.

SInce you have had the amaryllis for a couple of years then I assume they are winter hardy in your area and can be left in the ground year round. These would be considered mimimal care, easy plants.

Most important: leave the foliage intact to grow and refuel the bulb. Once the foliage turns brown on its own then you can remove it. If you cut the foliage off prematurely then it shortchanges the bulb and it may not bloom the next year.

Trim off faded flowers and old bloom stems to prevent the bulb wasting energy on setting seed. This helps them stay strong and bloom better the next year.

In the garden, you can fertilize a little bit when they first start to grow, and again lightly right after they bloom. Use a general purpose granular fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or you can use a bulb booster specialty fertilizer formulated for bulbs. Read and follow the label directions and do not overfeed.

I hope this helps!

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» babyhef - Amaryllis not blooming

In response to Amaryllis not blooming posted by Keystone72:

my orange amaryllis is blooming one after another in their cluster. I suspect you had fertelized them too high in nitrogen. Nitrogen helps them to grow and multiply but surpress it's flowers. My record for the orange amaryllis is 4 cm per day of growth for flowering stem. So I consider it fast. I live in Malaysia. So plenty of sunshine through the year.

-- posted by babyhef

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