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drgulley_gw

Freezing Temps & Amaryllis Question

drgulley
13 years ago

Hello All,

I hope someone can give me some advice on bringing my Amaryllis in from outside that are in pots. Luckily I brought all of my Maguire's bulbs in this Fall just in case it got too cold for them. I had some other Amaryllis that I got last summer and planted them in pots. When we had our big cold snap here in TX over the last few weeks, I put them in a shed with frost cloth over the top of them. We are supposed to be getting into the 60's here this weekend, so this morning I took them out of the shed and put them outside and they are looking pretty sad. Some of them almost feel hollow inside when I touch them. I am hoping that they will bounce back but my question is, would it hurt them any if I brought them inside and put them under grow lights? Would this be too much of a shock in temps for them at this point?

Thanks!

Dianne

Comments (5)

  • kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
    13 years ago

    Dianne,
    Some of my bulbs got a little too cold too, so I'll tell you what I'm doing. I live just north of Houston. I had some bulbs that were under cover, but when we dipped to 22 it was a bit much. I trimmed back the wilted growth and found that the inner part(when you cut across the neck you have outer layers and inner layers), had a translucent look to it. I'm guessing they froze.

    I would not bring them in and put them under heat lamps, I would put them where they'll warm gradually in the morning and get the afternoon warmth. Just don't let them freeze again (if yours are starting to rot from the inside). Remember, your bulb isn't in too good of shape and certainly isn't primed and ready to grow like they are when they arrive at our door step. A cool windowsill might be ok, but growlights might be a bit extreme!

    I had a bulb rot from the inside and when it was hollow, I unpotted it, totally flushed out the rotted growth, dusted the middle (the bulb was now essentially a bowl) and within a year it had regrown to a bulb.

    OTHERS might chime in, but I know that I'll probably lose a couple of bulbs, but most of us have had rot to one degree or another. I think if you put the bulb under the lights, you'd be expecting an awful lot from it, and it could stress it. Be patient! One thing we say over and over on this list is that amaryllis really do want to live...don't expect it to bounce back, but with time, it might be ok.
    Kristi

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    13 years ago

    My outside amaryllis had transparent leaves, from the freeze. I cut them off, and noticed that new leaves were already starting to come back. I had mulch around mine which helped. I am in Aransas County, and the coldest it got was 28 degrees, and was 30 degrees for two days. I think you might have had colder weather. Just don't give up, last year some of my plants came back from the roots in June. I left the coast yesterday, and noticed that some exotic hibiscus, had new growth already coming back from the base. I was told by the master gardeners, not to trim any plants until around April. That is going to be hard, since everything looks like its been fried. I usually wait intil the Mesquite Trees start to bloom, since you cannot fool them. Barbra

  • drgulley
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you both for the info. I live between Austin and Dallas and we got into the low teens here last week so that is why I was so concerned. I am going to trim off the dead leaves and wait and see what happens. I don't think we are supposed to have another freeze until later on this next week. I am going to give them a few days and I may unpot a few of them and flush out the rotted growth. Thanks for the tip on that Kristi.

    Dianne

  • HU-439408292
    last year

    i live on the Panhandle of Florida & our temps got down to around 23. i had covered all my amarylis b4 the freezing temps. our temps will go up to hopefullu around 70. i was thinking today to take the blankets off them all wash them tjrn pit the dry onrs back on every night. do u think i shld cut back the wilted dead leaves after i uncover them? thanks for any help

  • jstropic (10a)
    last year

    I find January is a good time to clean up bulbs and get them ready for spring flowering and growth. I usually remove the bulbs from the pots, take off dead leaves and remove dead roots before returning the bulbs to the pot. Keep bulbs dry until the temps rise and you see new growth. Good luck!

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