Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
robitaillenancy1

Propagation

robitaillenancy1
13 years ago

One of my amarylis has two suckers, or pups. I removed them and replanted but I think they didn't make it.

What is the best way to propagate these small plants? How long do they need to stay attached to the mother plant?

Nancy

Comments (7)

  • gmwill
    13 years ago

    They are often called offsets. Usually, people leave them attached to the mother bulbs for as long as possible.
    Since it usualy takes three years (or longer) for the new plants to bloom, there is really no hurry to detach them unless certain special situations that may affect either mother or children's health.

    One impotant factor to consider is whether the new plants have their own well defined basal plates as the basal plate is almost the most important part of a hippi. The basal plate is at the bottom of a plant where roots grow from.

    Also, the best time to seperate the bulbs is the end of cool period when the growth is the minimal and hence the minimal disturbance to both the parent bulb and offsets.

    Good Luck,

    -GM

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    13 years ago

    Nancy,

    I usually leave them alone and attached to the mother bulb until they are the size of a golf ball. In the past, I have removed smaller bulblets or they have fallen off when replanting and the smaller ones always die for me. When they are golf ball size or larger, they seem to break away naturally from the mother bulb on their own and by then they have developed a really good root system and a basal plate of their own, but that's just my opinion, others may do it differently. In the past I had an Orange Sovereign that had about 6 good sized bulblets and I just left them on and alone and re-potted the whole mass in a larger pot and enjoyed them for a few years until I finally had to separate them since I really couldn't handle a larger pot. They all lived and I gave all but 3 of them away.
    Good Luck...

    Donna

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    13 years ago

    What great information, thank you for posting the question Nancy. Barbra

  • robitaillenancy1
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the information. I hadn't been able to find it elsewhere.

    Nancy

  • haweha
    13 years ago

    I would not separate them before the next season.
    The Question is: Is there really a reason that you WANT to separate them? This thought leads to totally a different premise:
    I really do not want to separate unless I intend to create some "material" for exchanges/trades/gifts.
    (Thus) I AVOID even, to separate. And, I found that Hippeastrums make an extremely good appearance with one clump of one cultivar that it will put forth, a lot of scapes after some years. In this regard, I liken Knight Star Lilies (and, btw, MANY other flowers from bulbs) to "Herd Animals" LOL! AND, a CRUCIAL point of consideration also is, that the overall space demand with clumps (="clusters", "klisters") is lesser as compared to pots with single bulbs.
    Those poor, commiserable people infected by and heavily suffering from CHAD, (="compulsory Hording of Amaryllises Disorder" afaik) that have to move hundreds of containers with bulbs, every season, will be relieved about each pot LESS.

  • joshy46013
    13 years ago

    Hans,

    What wonderful advice :) I have noticed that my H. 'San Antonio Rose' and H. brasilianum have both put off 6 new pups each in the matter of ONE SEASON! I am very excited to see the eventual blooms that a pot full of these may bring!

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    13 years ago

    In the "wild", ie. plants grown in the ground, as the baby bulbs grow, they cause the mother bulb to rotate. The bigger the babies get and want to come to the surface for air, the more the mother turns onto her side. I have probably 200-300 bulbs in the ground (and maybe even more), so have seen this many times. If you leave them attached for years at a time, the mother's scape comes up at a big angle.

    Also interestingly, the babies always "wake up" first. Always. So around this time of year, I always know which bulbs have offsets. The new green shoots come up from the sides of the mother bulb before mama herself sends up any leaves.

Sponsored
Hoppy Design & Build
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Northern VA Award-Winning Deck ,Patio, & Landscape Design Build Firm