Failing bulb

10 years ago

Hi there,

I'm new here and in need of help for a failing Amaryllis bulb.

I bought it at Lowes sometime before Christmas and potted it in a ceramic pot that has about an inch of room all the way around. I don't remember exactly what variety it is, but it was doing fine until recently. Sent up a stalk (I gather that is called a scape?) and then suddenly, the two outer most leaves wilted and died. The flower half-opened, but didn't all the way, and is now wilting. If I peel back the edges of the flower cluster, it looks there are several other blossoms that are yellowing and wilting.

I've done Amaryllis in the past and have had medium luck getting them to bloom again another year, so I guess I would say that I am not great with them. I am a gardener though, and am pretty good with my outside plants.

I've done some googling and can't figure out what is wrong with this bulb and how to safe it.

Thanks for the help- I can post some pics later if that would help.

Comments (6)

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
I would pull the bulb out to look it over. I assume that the pot has good drainage. Once you pull the bulb out, look at the roots. Are they fat and white? Does the basal plate look healthy or does it look like it's soft and rotty (especially if there are no roots). Is the bulb still solid, or are there mushy spots. Did the leaves have any red on them? If you peek into the bulb's neck, do you see any red?

Posting some photos might help those on the list give you more definite answers once we have more info about the condition of the bulb.

I know I have had a bulb that had me scratching my head....
K
ruth0552
Original Author
10 years ago
The pot does have good drainage. I pulled the bulb- and it has no roots. The root plate is soft and mushy. There are two spots of mushiness on the bulb itself near the root plate. The leafs aren't red, but are very short, and there are some spots of red on the stalk. I peeled away some of the outer layers and one of the rotten spots disappeared. I cut away the other rotted spot with a knife and it goes deeply into the root plate, which also has spots of red in it.

My understanding at this point is that the bulb has mosaic virus, and is basically trash?
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kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
Ruth,
Your bulb has rot (although it may have virus, but that shows up as a pattern on the leaves so I can't say that this is the problem); it also sounds like it has a fungus due to the red that you are describing. Red on the bulb can be bruising, but red on leaves signals a fungus.

If the basal plate is soft an mushy, it may be doomed. I guess I would dust the cut spot with cinnamon (or Captan if you have it), and let the bulb dry out for a few days. Then, check that basal plate and brush away what you can of the soft mush to get to what's left of the base. If the basal plate disappears completely (if there's nothing left after you clean it up), then it most likely has no future. After it's dry you can repot it so that only the plate is making contact with the soil. Water it very sparingly...and see what happens. It may be beyond help...sorry.
K
ruth0552
Original Author
10 years ago
pics
ruth0552
Original Author
10 years ago
close-up of bulb. Is there a way to post more than 1 pic at a time?
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
Ruth, looks like you still have some basal plate...but there are some real problems with half the basal plate cut away. If you really want to experiment...cut the bulb in half, so that it has the basal plate on that half. Thoroughly dust the cut portion with cinnamon (or Captan) and let it dry for several days. Then plant it just so the basal plate is in contact with the soil. It's a bit like doing cuttage. The bulb (or half) needs the basal plate to survive...you may as well discard the half that now has no basal plate. UGH...sorry this has happened to you, but there's lots to be learned here.

I don't know how you are posting photos, but I use Photobucket and you can post multiple photos that way, but cutting and pasting the html code right into this message box.

K