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maxmom96

Christmas gift Amaryllis question

maxmom96
17 years ago

For the past two years I've received the typical Jackson Perkins Christmas gift amaryllis. Last year, after dying back I placed the container in a dark place and withdrew water. I brought it out in November and resumed care. The leaves grew but no blossoms. This Christmas I received a second plant.

The question is: Do these mail order plants ever rebloom? I've heard they won't but can't seem to bring myself to throw a plant away. Will they rebloom if planted outside? If so, when should I plant them? I've heard that once a plant like this blooms inside the house it's difficult to adjust it to the outside blooming period. Or should I take a stiff drink and just throw them away?

Comments (8)

  • jeff_al
    17 years ago

    they rebloom for me when planted outside in my area, which is a similar zone to you.
    i plant them in containers or the ground at the same level as recommended by the original instructions on the box.
    i believe some of them are more hardy than others but recall seeing the giant red ones in landscapes here.
    i have a smaller-flowered scarlet one and also a large-flowered white and red variety(thumbnail below). each comes back and blooms as well as produces offsets, which i share with others.
    i would try them outdoors since they are not giving you flowers after the initial bloom.
    also, that stiff drink probably wouldn't hurt whichever course you choose. *lol*
    {{gwi:358612}}

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    I've had pretty good luck with getting these bulbs to flower again as long as I provided them with enough sunlight during the growing (summer) season. That, I believe, is the key for reblooming.

    Once the weather is warm enough, place the container outside where it can absorb full, direct sunlight rays. No freezing temperatures! Sunlight, in combination with some fertilization, is what will encourage the bulb to manufacture and store the kind of energy needed to produce flowers. Do keep your amaryllis in the same container all during its outdoor, sunny vacation. And make sure that that container is one with a drainage hole. I'd stop fertilizing after mid-August in your location.

    After the summer, the leaves will begin to fade naturally. At this point, it is no longer sending carbs to the bulb and is ready to go fully dormant. Bring the plant inside and cut (cleanly) any dead leaves (keep those that are still green) and stop watering.

    Your bulb needs a cool and dark dormant period, with no watering. It can remain in the same container during this dormancy, if you like. 6 to 8 weeks is a minumum time.

    When you are ready to bring it back out of its rest period, you can change the potting medium, if it needs it. Use any good (peat based) soil-less potting medium. Be sure to plant it so that the head and shoulders of the bulb is above the soil. Cut off any remaining dead leaves, and trim the roots. It will grow all new roots, using some of the stored energy within the bulb.

    Water, but don't fertilize (that's for the summer), and locate in a sunny, warm location.

    Now, you have a decision to make! Are you going to plant it outside, or keep it in the container? ;-)

  • lsmcw
    17 years ago

    I get amaryllis every year to have blooms for Christmas. Then when the foliage does down I plant outside. They don't bloom that spring but will the next and every year afterwards with practically no care. Linda

  • ourhighlandhome
    17 years ago

    They're very easy and carefree as an outdoor plant. Like Linda said, it'll take a growing season before they reset their "internal clock", but after that they'll resume blooming each spring and be much healthier & happier (as will you be after that stiff drink!).

    Nelson

  • maxmom96
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thank you all for your information. Guess I'll just wait for the die-back of the two plants and go ahead and plant them outside. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    Darn, that was such a good excuse for that stiff drink!

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    What about the celebration? ;-) That's a far better excuse!

  • jeff_al
    17 years ago

    and there is always bastille day and national potato week but, remember, those are for celebrating and not for plain ol' guzzling! :-)
    just curious, but i suppose the lower portion of zone 7 would be the limits of hardiness for these plants? most sources say zones 9-11.
    i believe rhizo is in the huntsville area so perhaps the tennessee valley area of our state might be too cold for them as an outdoor plant. the one in my photo was in a large clay pot which i left out yearround. it was given to me by a friend in gainsville, florida who left it out down there and it never bloomed for her. it flowered the following spring after moving to auburn and spending the winter outside in the same container. that seems strange to me considering they are tropical and should not need a cold period to encourage flowering.

  • suemckee
    17 years ago

    I live in Ms. and i plant them outside when spring comes and they bloom every spring

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