Heres a closer shot

Lucky you!!' Definitely amaryllis!! Now...what variety?
They look orange with a nice white star. Could be cross of H. Striatum.
Very nice!!
Kristi

This post was edited by kaboehm on Thu, Feb 14, 13 at 7:14

Hi Jane,

Lucky you is right!!!! They look like H. x johnsonii to me but beautiful none the less.

Warm Regards,
Fred

Hard to tell from the photos...if they are rich red, they could be H.Johnsonii...due to the photo they look orange...do tell Jane....red or orange?
K

Do they have a scent? If not, probably not johnsonii. Posting a close up of one flower might help with id.

Will post back when I get home with a photo. These are growing in sandy soil in Florida. Didn't even know they were there until buds started appearing. Moved in here in Sept and never watered them. Surprised they are alive. Very pretty, no matter what they are.

Got back late and its raining for the first time in months! Couldn't smell them, will try tomorrow. Took another shot. They look coral/red to my eyes. They don't look orange to me.

Here's another try. I cropped the above pic to bring it closer. My monitor does not show the true color. I don't know if its my camera or computer.

Jane, search this forum for "johnsonii" to see photos of that variety in our gardens...then compare those photos to your blooms to see if you have a match.
Kristi

Jane,
My post, "Stuff in the yard" shows how red H. Johnsonii is. The post is dated April 19, 2010. Search for "stuff".
Kristi

I don't think these are johnsonii. First, the color isn't red enough. And secondly, johnsonii has big robust foliage that doesn't die back on its own. Since you didn't know these were here it is much more likely they are a striatum hybrid of some sort. Striatum does die back to the ground even on mild winters like this one. The flowers are a bit too ruffly to be striatum. Here is a picture of one I know for sure to be striatum:

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But I also have some pass alongs that are related to striatum in some way, based on look and growth habit, but are different enough not to be striatum. They look a bit similar to yours:

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Oh, and here is johnsonii for comparison:
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So probably won't be able to get a specific name - but doesn't make them any less beautiful! And the awesome thing about these hardy unknowns is that they seem to bloom more reliably as landscape plants than the hybrids do. I have several hybrids planted in ground that grow big robust foliage, but refuse to bloom.

Thank you 'Sun' for the information. I have no knowledge of these plants as I never grew any. Have seen the bulbs in cardboard boxes at stores over the years, but they never attracted me. I primarily grow orchids. I do not know the culture of these plants and would appreciate any advice to keep them doing well.

I saw the foliage when we first bought the house. I didn't know what it was and was told they were weeds, Sad part is, we closed on the house end of July but didn't move into until Sept. because we did work on the house.

This foliage (one leaf here and there) was all over the property. The spot in the pics, but also along a large bed in front of the house.

Most of the foliage was sprayed with Round-Up by a 'gardener' we paid to mow the lawn before moving in. I had asked what these leaves were and he shook his head and then said, weeds. Most of the foliage in front of the house died. The flowers in the pics are growing under a large Gardenia bush and survived the Round-Up,

I'm mad at myself for not asking for ID back then as I thought the leaves looked like a bulb type leaf. But there was so much going on with the new house, I forgot them. Then suddenly they bloomed.

Here's a few shots I took this morning. Your photos are beautiful and these flowers are certainly not the same 'red' as your photos. They also have a white star in the center. I checked for fragrance and I don't detect any.

Thanks again for the great info from everyone here!

Jane

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This is the type of foliage I saw when we first moved in. Mainly single leaf (I think).
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I think the only reason these survived was they were growing under this large bush. I discovered them when we cut back the bush.
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The red looks more like an H. Johnsonii, though the star looks a bit "wide". Well...whatever they are they are tough and WANT TO LIVE!! So sad about the gardener and the Roundup, but since they did so well by the garage, transplant a few bulbs over there spaced a bit apart and soon you'll have a lovely bed of them there too. Hey....stuff happens!
Congrats on a nice surprise!
Kristi

I think you probably have a no name garden hybrid. There are many here in FL. Here is another of my noid plants, and the bloom looks fairly similar to you latest pic

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Shame about the roundup. But it has been a warm winter, and these are coming up nearly a full month early. Maybe you'll still have a few more survivors come up over the next month.

But at least you have some! These are really no care plants here. Give them a sprinkle of fertilizer after they bloom, then just leave them alone. Giving them no attention last year was just fine. They bloom in spring, then grow foliage until midsummer. Then they start going dormant. Some will lose their leaves entirely, and others will keep there leaves, but just sit there. Then they come to life in the spring. They really do not require much supplemental water here either.

You'll love growing orchids here too. I used to try up north, and failed miserably. But here I was given one as a gift. After it finished blooming, I put it outside in a shady spot by a sprinkler. Ignored it except bringing it in for freezes, and it blooms reliably every January!

Good luck with your new find!

I just realized that your blooms are quite large too. Didn't see your hand in that one photo. I think H. Johnsonii is probably a bit more trumpet-shaped than your blooms too.

Enjoy them!
Kristi

Thanks to everyone for the great information. I am so impressed by the hardiness of these plants, I'm going to research this forum and learn more about growing them. I'm tempted to plant some.

Since we moved in it has been so dry, hardly any rain and the soil looks like beach sand. The place where these bulbs are growing has a large Gardenia bush which has overgrown many of the bulbs. I did water the Gardenia a few times since Sept. not realizing there were bulbs planted there. So they did get some water but very little.

I've started trying to build the soil by adding organic matter, and pine bark mulch.

Thank you Sun for the photos and link. I looked at 'Stuff' and they do look similar but a deeper red. Beautiful flowers and even more beautiful when they require so little care. They can become my Florida Tulips!

Thanks to everyone again,
Jane

They are a nice tulip alternative. They have a similar garden role. Fabulous spring display, that is about a month long. Too brief, but looks spectacular en mass. Your in ground plants should produce seed pods. Seeds sprout readily in FL, so it is a cheap way to increase your number of plants. I have several hundred seedlings I planted last year. Am going to make a mass display in my front yard.

Check out Home Depot this time of year too for other great southern bulbs like crinum. They had nice white queen bulbs for 6 dollars today. They can take the unamended soil here and require no irrigation. And they bloom mid summer. So if you surround a crinum with hippis, you get a spring and summe flower display.

Have fun!

Where in FL are you? I'm in the Orlando area.

Thanks again. We live in Sarasota, about 8 miles from the Gulf. A bit colder and hotter than living closer to the water. Tonight is cold and I dragged in some of my tender orchids and a few houseplants which made the trip with us. I don't know if the hippis can survive a frost, but there are too many to cover. Maybe the Gardenia will offer them some protection.

There are a lot of bulbs popping up and the previous owner must have planted hundreds of them. They appear the same. I see a clump in the front of the house, lots of leaves but no buds. I'm sure most were Round-Upped and didn't survive. The one clump is alone. The plants in the back yard are thin in the open areas where I'm sure the gardener sprayed. Too bad as the flowers look nice in mass.

I'll check into Crinums, another I'm not familiar.

I still pinch myself, reminded that this is February and there are plants flowering outside. Yesterday, I discovered an azelea blooming under a large oak tree. Thought it was a weed bush and here it is now with pretty pink flowers.

Living here is like a treasure hunt! I appreciate all the information I have gotten on this forum. You are all so very nice.

Jane

The prior owner need not have planted hundreds!! In October a friend and I repotted 70 H. Papilio bulbs that came from 1 bulb planted 10 years ago. I think the post was "How I earned a free bulb"! Lots of photos!

A mother bulb might put out several offsets each year or 2 and those might put out several more offsets every 2-3 years. In 10 years... You could easily have over 100!!!

Enjoy them and definitely... Spread them around! You'll have a magnificent display!!
K

Amazing! Here I was feeling so guilty that the previous owner spent so much time and money planting all these bulbs!

Jane

Hi Jane,

I have several heirloom type amaryllis bulbs (from Ebay) that came from the South growing en mass is people's gardens. I'd be glad to try and self a few flowers for you and send you the seeds this spring or whenever they ripen. You could just plant them in the ground in clumps and hope for the best. You never know, a handful of each might grow well for you.
I do so envy you guys in the warmer states being able to grow your hippies in the ground and then basically forgetting them until the next year. We northern gardeners have to go through a lot of work to keep these bulbs blooming for us!..But then you know that if you lived in NY!!...Donna

These are very common in Fl. don't know what variety they are but they are popping up blooms in many places especially around older homes. They multiply & do not need a lot of care.

Donna, so true about being a gardener up North. My living room was set up with octopus floor lamps to keep the orchids going. Had vaporizers blasting on them. My next door neighbor said my livingroom looked like a landing pad at night!

It is such a pleasure now not dealing with all that. Although, the warmth has its downside. Bugs, fungus. But I'm still amazed having my plants outside in Feb. Very weird.

I'd love your offer of some seeds. How exciting!

Thanks,
Jane

Jane you make me laugh, we keep our shop lights on way into the night in our furnace room for about half of my hippie pots and I'm always afraid that the neighbors will think we're growing something else in there!

I'll see what I can do about seeds for you..my heirlooms are starting to bloom now so it will be a while. I had good luck last year. I have 5 eBay heirloom bulbs and all but one will bloom for me this year. Unfortunately the only one that won't bloom is a gorgeous vitattum type with a great fragrance but they don't look so good and I"m hoping I don't lose them. The seller is still selling them and maybe in a month or so I'll buy another lot..Donna

Donna, you know orchid growers need a 12-step program. It is a terrible addiction which takes over their lives and those of their family! Everyone suffers, except the plants.

Not having a greenhouse, my home became a greenhouse. Take a look at my livingroom in NY. My plants were against large, SW windows. There was a road behind my house. At night, the whole yard was lit from the lights.

My marriage has taken a turn for the better since the move to Florida. The lights are gone, but there isn't much room left on the patio. My husband doesn't care, he's just happy to be in the living room without having to wear sunglasses!

I appreciate your kindness. Please let me know the best way to learn about growing Amaryllis. I wouldn't want to kill anything. I still feel guilty about the Round-Up.

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Jane

Jane,
Your best bet would be to pick up a copy of "Hippeastrum the gardener's amaryllis" by Veronica M. Read. It is what many of turn to as the "bible" for all things Hippeastrum. Amazon offers it at a reasonable price and used copies are available.
Kristi

Jane,

I'm chuckling again, your window looks like my bay window and all my other windows!! The good thing is, once the warm weather returns most all of them go outside until Oct. Only a few special irreplaceable ones stay in so the Narcissus Bulb Fly doesn't get at them...It's always nice to get the house back even if it's only for a few months...Donna

I have that as a pass along of at least seventy years ago.It appears to be a clone, or a hybrid of Striatum.Striatum has a lot of variability and there are many clones of that species. It rots when over watered or has poor drainage.
Del

Yes, amazing that it is only February! Good luck with seeds. Last year I did a test and planted 10 seeds 1/4 inch under the soil, in a tray outside. They did great! 8 out of 10 grew. Just as we'll as when I've done any of the fussier methods like floating or planting seeds sideways and half buried. This year I will just plant seeds that way. It is so fun to watch them grow.

Donna, your eBay #2 seedlings are growing along nicely. I'll be planting them out in ground this year - thanks so much for sharing!

Angela,

All the seeds you sent me are doing fine, some of all are growing on, especially the red throated straitum, I think all that you sent me germinated!!!...Donna

Thanks for the post as I bought this one but have not been able to pollinate the bloom. It will probably bloom again this week or next before any-others even start to send up shoots. It would be nice if it will split quickly. The bulb and the bloom are smaller than any-other Amaryllis I have so far. I love any plant that blooms earlier so I am enjoying this one and do hope it will split soon.

Many Thanks

That's awesome Donna! All yours are doing well for me too. Many are dormant right now. I'm looking forward to seeing them all leaf out in a month or so. I'll start a new thread with pics when I plant them out.

Wally, that's a pretty one hopefully you will be able to self it this time and get some seeds. I like the nice soft color.

Angela, all my seedlings have been growing all winter bulking up before I put them in a whiskey barrel for the summer. Last year many of my seedlings that I planted directly in the ground got eaten by various insects including the NBF. I didn't seem to have the same problem in the barrels, probably because it was man made soil..,.Donna

That's too bad about the ones that you planted in ground! I too had some of the striatum seedlings I planted in ground get destroyed. I think by some sort of fungal rot. The ones I planted in partial shade did great regardless of moisture level, and the ones in full sun but in wet spots rotted. So this year I'll plant them out in drier and partly shady spots.