A friend thought they looked like Amaryllis but wasn't sure. Thought I'd visit here.

Thanks Jane

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

Warm Regards,
Fred

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:

Oh, and here is johnsonii for comparison:

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.

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

This is the type of foliage I saw when we first moved in. Mainly single leaf (I think).

I think the only reason these survived was they were growing under this large bush. I discovered them when we cut back the bush.

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!

Enjoy them!
Kristi

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Many Thanks

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