That's good news Josh. Tell us how deep you planted them and did they have any mulch protection and if so how much..and were they up against the foundation on the sunny side of the house. I think just about all of us can add a half zone or more this year due to this non winter. Every year I say I'm going to plant some of my bulbs in the ground and LEAVE them there and each time I chicken out! This year for sure I'm a gonna do it!
Looking forward to your species pictures..nice to see these lovely flowers that most of us will never own...

Donna

Donna, I planted them in the open yard and buried them just under the surface, they had just a really light layer of mulch on top.

For anyone that doesn't know, I'm in zone 5 but my winter was pretty mild.

Wow, zone 5! That's bold, Josh. :) I read left and right that amaryllis were hardy to zone 8 (while some argued zone 9) but I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when my amaryllis were able to overwinter just fine. Now I'm inundated with a lot of red amaryllis. hehe. I'll admit, after buying a handful of new bulbs the past few months, as well as receiving some seeds by generous members here, I do wonder if they can be hardy in my area as well.

Winter was mild as heck, wasn't it? It's a relief in one way but it's a nail-biter when next winter comes because you haven't seen if they can overwinter just fine yet.

Wow1 This is the year for this to work, that is for sure. Considering that zone is about average low temps, rather than absolute lows, sometimes you just can luck out. But yeah, it's a nail biter each year when you push your zone.

I do think that placement in the yard helps considerable..close to the foundation on the sunny side..I wouldn't dare to plant them out in the middle (as Josh did) even with 1/2 foot of mulch on top! I'm definitly going to give it a try though.. I've got doubles and triples of bulbs through mislabels so I've got about 10 expendable bulbs I'll give it a go with..( I think)..;-)

Hi Guys,

I overwintered a small variety the year before and our winter was awful, that was was close to a fence tho. I also have some Crinum planted out but a few species are hardier.

I was really nervous about planting them in the middle of the yard but I ran out of room EVERYWHERE else for plants, it was mid march and I needed to put them somewhere so they'd bloom. The flowers were much larger in the ground and they were beautiful!

I dug around the 'Apple Blossom' bulb and it's the size of a softball, they really do well in the ground!

My zone RARELY gets down to the cold of Zone 5, (the low it states is -20f, I have never had a -20f winter. It barely gets below zero and if it does it's not for an extended period of time.

I wasn't really hopeful where I planted them for them to come back so I didn't really mulch too much, I just wanted to see the blooms in the ground and I did, I was satisfied.

Congratulations! That's really neat to hear about (thanks too for mentioning your zone for those of us who didn't know). We're looking forward to lots of pics and updates. That's a fun experiment for your climate! Keep the updates coming. Take care all!

Hi dragonstone - leaving them out works fine here in NC as long as the bulb is covered by something (dirt, mulch, etc). Give it a try!

Donna, I can send you some seedlings to leave out this winter. Funny how when they were little I thought it was such a good idea to grow so many, and now that they're bigger I'm having a hard time finding room for them. I wish I had more sun in my yard :-(

Josh, I agree, they really do grow huge in the ground! I think it's all that extra root depth they get.

Alana

OMG Alana, Thanks for the offer of seedlings, but as you know I've got more than I know what to do with just like you! But, thanks anyway! I still intend to send you a few of my Fairy Tale crosses (from 2 yrs ago) this spring when they get looked at and rearranged to put in the ground for the summer..unless you don't want them...;-)

I'm sure this next winter will be the winter that spirals us back to a Siberia just because I'm gonna leave lots of bulbs in the ground..just you all wait and see!

Donna

I'm going to plant a bunch more this year, I honestly didn't think they would make it, not because of the cold but because it was SO rainy this winter.

I'm going to put a bunch more seedlings outside this year. Donna, I'd be happy to add yours to the bunch! I'm hoping that my very first seedlings - offspring of my favorite Blossom Peacock - will bloom this year. It's its third year and spent all last year in the ground. If it does you'll all see pictures right here!

Let's hope you're not back to miserable winters next year because that means it'll be cold here too. Not as cold as you all but still cold for me!

Alana