BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Gardening Did you plant an Amaryllis?

25! I bet it is beautiful when they are all blooming!

Goodness!! Twenty-five and looking for more - does she have a greenhouse? Or does she just put them in different rooms of the house? It must be beautiful when all are in bloom. Are they all different colors? Does she or you have any miniature ones?

I planted a miniature this year and it finally broke through after being potted and watered for three weeks. It grew about an inch over the weekend but I am expecting it to begin to grow rapidly now that it has started. It is reddish orange with a white star in the center. I can't wait to see it.

Yes 25...they are all the large ones...I think she gets the most pleasure from watching them grow and then seeing peoples faces when she gives them to people as gifts in full bloom over the holidays. And no she doesn't have a green house...YET...she's planning on building one as her addiction has taken over the living room and it may as well be a green house...all that's in there now are orchids and amaryllis..lol

I let my amaryllis live outside during the summer and it had two leaves all season. Now the leaves are yellowing. I think I confused it. It didn't bloom last winter at all, just had the same two leaves. Any ideas on how to get it back on track? I think I'd better buy a new one for Christmas!

Hi Mary Ellen, welcome to our little spot at Bella Online.

Regarding your amaryllis, it is normal for the leaves to yellow and die. It will then go into a resting period. The best thing to do is cut the leaves to about 2" from the top of the bulb and remove it from the soil. Clean it and store it in 40-50 degrees for at least 6 weeks. You can put it in the crisper of your refrigerator but be sure there are no apples there because that will cause the bulb to become infertile. After the minimum of six weeks has passed, you can repot the bulb, place it in a warm place with direct light (I had to place my miniature amaryllis on a heater so the soil would get up to 80 degrees F. for a week before growth started) and water minimally until growth starts again. Remember it normally takes about 8 weeks before it blooms again, so you might not want to start it right at six weeks, depending on when you want it to bloom.

It is important to feed it after it blooms until the leaves die so the bulb will have nourishment to rebloom. Feed it every two weeks with 1/2 strength African Violet food.

If it doesn't rebloom this time, it probably will be because it didn't get enough food, but if you feed it during its growth period, it will bloom next time.

Keep me updated as to how it is growing, I love to follow up on these wonderful plants.

yes i did plant an amaryllis and it has 4 leaves on it,but this morning when I went to look at it I noticed the tips had a sticky substance on them. could you possibly tell me why that is happening? This is an amaryllis I had from last year and I wanted to keep it for this year,I followed all of your instrustions to the tee,the bulb was in good shape when I first planted.

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Usually, when there is a sticky substance on a plant, it means some sort of tiny insect.

In order for me to figure out what the problem is, please describe exactly how much sticky stuff there is. Also, did you summer the bulb outside or did it remain inside all summer? How long has it been growing this season and how long are the leaves? Is it on all of the leaves or just one or two? Do you see any cob webs or other signs of insects like cottony white blobs or dusty white or gray spots or small dark spots? Look the plant over carefully and be sure everything looks ok. Is the bulb stalk growing and is it sticky also?

Once I hear all the info you can give me, I will do further research. In the meantime, gently wash the sticky stuff off with water, but be careful not to get the water inside the bulb (turn it sideways and run it under slightly warm water and gently wipe the sticky stuff off with your fingers or a cotton ball). If you get water inside the bulb, it will rot, so be very careful. If it turns out to be an insect, hopefully, you have caught it quickly enough and can get rid of it - I just need to do a little research first.

Barb, do you put all your bulb in the dark for eight weeks or do you let them bloom at their normal time?

I do not force mine for any leghth of time. I water less when I bring them inside (water once a month). Mine bloom naturally between Jan - March.

Hi Barb:

The plant we were talking about was brought back into the light and now has three nice leaves and a stalk with flower bud. It's looking like the late show, but that's fine because an amaryllis is always welcome around here. Funny, by Christmas, three of them had shown up here (compliments of the neighbor-lady) so we had a long run of differently colored amaryllis through the holidays. It was lovely! The three Christmas-blooming plants are on rest cycle now, and I will definitely follow your formula for bringing them back. Thanks for the recipe!

Help! I planted one of those amaryllis from a box on rocks with roots in water. It bloomed beautifully, but now I don't know what to do with it. Any advice would be helpful.