If you plant them in the ground, can't you just dig them up in the fall and let them rest until springtime, when you plant them again? Growing in the ground with nice sun and rain would be best...I was in Holland and know it freezes there, but I don't know if you could leave them in the ground all year with a very heavy layer of mulch.

I grow mine in pots and I do repot on average every 2 years...typically when I split off offsets. Why don't you add a fan to the greenhouse? And you could add a shade cloth too to keep it a little cooler.

Just envious that you live where many of these beautiful bulbs come from...you HAVE to go to Keukenhof in March!!

Kristi

I'll just try it. Experience is the best teacher, we say in the Netherlands. And it is also a thing wich is on my list of must-do's to go to Keukenhof!

Thank you!

Hippifan,

What are your temps like in winter? I googled the zone and your the equivalent I think to USDA zone 8 where Hippeastrum hybrids are usually hardy.

Josh,
Because you live on the continent of North America, you not have Siberia and there is you warm huge Pacific Ocean. So you have a different climate. In the Netherlands, while zone 8, but when the anticyclone comes from Siberia even in Western Europe are strong frosts, and in the absence of the Netherlands the snow then field planting bulbs need to cover with a thick layer of straw.Without this - daffodils, tulips, hyacinths freeze, not to mention the tender hippeastrums.

Just out of curiosity I looked at Amsterdam's weather averages, I'm not sure where Hippi is from but their average temps for the winter months are below. They seem pretty mild really, I can't imagine a need for straw during winter. My average lows in the winter are 15f which is well below freezing. Their summers are much cooler than mine tho.

I attached a link from Garden Web that has the zone map that corresponds with the lows from the Weather.com lists.

Dec.
33f -- Low
42f -- High

Jan.
31f -- Low
40f -- High

Feb.
31f -- Low
42f -- High

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web Zonal Map For Europe

All this is true, but!
1. Amsterdam - a port on the coast. There is much milder climate.
2. These temperatures - These are average lows. This is the average temperature of the body in the hospital)).

Oleg,

I hope you don't think I was undermining your knowledge, I'm assuming you're from the Netherlands and you know first hand how the weather is, I was just showing you the sources I based my first message from. I trust your knowledge of your environment over second hand information.

Josh

Josh,
As for the weather, at least for the Netherlands is -7 -12 Celsius or Fahrenheit 10-20. These data from your link. I do not know of that such hippeastrum would have stood a frost even a couple of hours.
But not only this, even the combination of low temperature plus wet soil - it is destructive to bulbs hippeastrum.
It is worth recalling the name of the topic: Hippeastrum outside. Do you recommend to Hippifan grow them year round, without digging in the Netherlands or not? ))
:)

Well, if he does live in an area such as zone 8 I don't think he would have much of a problem.

Keep in mind I asked him what his winters were like and didn't suggest he do anything at this point.

Oleg,

Most Hippeastrum hybrids are hardy to zone 8 just like glads, dahlia, begonia and several other tender bulbs. Is zonal gardening not practiced in Europe?

When a zonal system says a min. temp they really mean a minimum temp. These temperatures are very unlikely but if the do occur it's for a very short period of time. Looking at the average low for the area it is 31f but a dip for an hour in the 20's could happen.

Maybe someone from the US can explain this better than I but this is the way we garden and have for a long, long time with very few problems.

Hi, thank you for your replies. I'll just try. And it would be nice to try and let them in the ground in winter. But I think it's not a very good idea to use my most beautiful amaryllis for it. :-)

If it helps, this is my first year with in ground plants. We just had a couple days of freezing weather. My low was 29 degrees F. with temperatures below freezing (32 F) for approximately 4 hours per night. My in ground hippeastrums are totally fine. Not even any foliage damage.

I agree with you Hippifan...better safe than sorry. Prevent them from freezing and you'll be ok. Overwinter them somewhere cool, but not freezing...and they'll probably bloom nicely for you when you put them back in the ground after the danger of frost has passed.
Kristi

I agree with you Hippifan...better safe than sorry. Prevent them from freezing and you'll be ok. Overwinter them somewhere cool, but not freezing...and they'll probably bloom nicely for you when you put them back in the ground after the danger of frost has passed.
Kristi

Hippifan,

I agree, I wouldn't use your most prized bulbs, use something you can find again if you need to!

'Apple Blossom' is quite hardy, I would try using it, it's easily found and does great in ground culture. I also have many offsets of 'San Antonio Rose' which is said to be hardy to zone 7, if you're interested e-mail me and I can send you a bulb!

Let us know what happens!

For what it's worth I'm in zone 7/8 with lows about what were mentioned above - 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit - and my hippis do fine in the ground with ~ an inch of mulch. Of course I didn't try my most prized ones initially but more and more are going outside and staying there. I think they actually grow faster and bloom taller in the ground as well.

Alana