I too think that I got virus-infected bulbs from one of our very best sources. Of course, when they are sent dormant bulbs, they have no way of knowing that they are infected. As a few of my bulbs have shown up with the very recognizable pattern, I put them in the screen house where no bugs can get them to later transmit to my other bulbs. So far I have been lucky and seem to lose only a couple a year to this. When the leaves first grew out in the spring of last year, when it was nice and cool, they didn't show the pattern, so many growers in different areas of the US may not even know that they have virused plants yet. SAD!!! I will say that my Lady Jane and Rosalie, both with virus, put out spectacular blooms this spring. I just enjoy them from behind the screen and don't touch anything for fear of spreading it to my other bulbs. I have hundreds of healthy bulbs in pots and I am religious with the systemic insecticide.

I know that there are those on this list who discard their virused bulbs. Yet I hear off list from others around the world who have the virus and for them it is hard to get bulbs that aren't infected, and so they live with the mottled leaves, but still enjoy the plants. It's kind that you are offering your bulbs....and people...mymimi is being up front that these are virused, so don't blast her. She is one of the few sellers who is being truthful.

We've all accepted that the list is split between toss or separate infected bulbs. I walk my neighborhood where people have huge beds of amaryllis in their yards, and all that I have seen so far are heavy with the virus. Yet even if I tell them, they reply that they still get blooms and they are going to enjoy them as long as the bulbs are alive.

It's become bad, and only those of you lucky enough to be able to isolate your plants year round are going to be able to protect your bulbs, I'm afraid.

Mymimi, I'm sorry that this has hit you hard economically. Hang in there...

Kristi

Kristi, Thanks so much for your kind words. No member of my family has been left untouched by either the economy or medical problems. I keep hoping things will get better, but so far I can't see any bright spots.

There are two local nurseries that have amaryllis growing from last falls' bulbs. I plan on visiting them and looking at the leaves on the plants. I know who supplies them. One has two or three White Christmas and the other has two or three Black Pearl and a pink that I can't remember the name of. I want to see if the plants are clean or infected. Both these nurseries use pesticide like it was candy. I don't use any pesticide in my gh or even outdoors. I have fish everywhere and they are very sensitive to all chemicals.

Has it been proven that the seeds cannot carry the virus?

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you, mymimi.

This topic makes me extremely paranoid. Collectors have it 'easier' because usually the bulbs are all potted, indoors, and thus the chances of mosaic viruses hopping plants via bugs are greatly minimized.

My bulbs are all outdoors in the ground and it doesn't help that I live in a supposedly swampy area with the humidity always high, even during the droughts we've been having the last few summers. If an infected bulb slips in because the signs weren't obvious after a good long while, I'm sure my whole bed would go like wildfire due to the bugs.

Well, sadly it's official....11 of the 12 bulbs I got from a coop order have virus. The only one that doesn't is City of Grafton. Poor bulbs....poor me!!! I put Darwin Bell and Forest Fire under screen today. DANG IT!!

So...that's more than an 88% failure. The other bulbs with virus tended to be box kits from Lowe's and Home Depot (no great loss there) and just a couple others. So....if Kristi

I'm so sorry Kristi. This virus is devastating financially to the end consumer. The grower and middleman get their money. I think in maybe two or three years non-virused bulbs will be rare. This may very well be the beginning of the end of the amaryllis collectors/amateur growers.

I went thru most of my bulbs today and this is what I found.

severe infected
Limona
Cocktail

mild infection
Stylosum
Lady Jane
Santos 2 pots
Exotic Star
Milady
Rilona 2 pots
Emerald
Evergreen 2 pots
Striatum Petolatum
noid

appears clean
Germa
Red Peacock
noid
Aphrodite
Chico
Double Dragon
Lemon Lime
Jade Serpent
Elvas 3 pots
Papillio
Yellow Goddess
San Miguel
Giraffe
Santana
Pasadena
mrs Garfield
Lima
La Paz seedlings
Amputo
La Paz

and I stopped keeping track of the names.

Well, I have a lot more than expected that are not yet showing signs of infection.

I have finally settled on a battle plan. I have decided to destroy the two with the obvious severe infection. I will throw away their pots also. Everything mildly affected will be evicted from the gh and will be treated with systemic pesticide. Just in case it is some kind of weird bug. During the summer anything else that looks suspicious will be evicted from the gh and go outside and be treated. I will see what I have left at the end of the summer.

There is no rhyme or reason for my infections. Plants side by side were clean and infected. Pots of the same bulb on different sides of the gh were infected. I did discover that two plants still have the red mite infection. Those will have to be removed and treated with the other pesticide. There are not enough dirty words available to describe the greedy growers that have propagated the virus and red mites.

I think that when all is over I will only acquire my desired plants from other hobbyists that have pups available. Rilona and Lady Jane are two of my favorites as is Cocktail. Currently all these are showing mild signs of infection.

sigh.........

pam

Hi, I have learnt to live with problems related to old age, What if I can not hit the driver more than 180 yards or have to use 8 iron from 100 yards.
I have learnt to live with my bad heart( has 4 bi-passes), hypertension, glaucoma, oesophageal reflux and prostate syndromes.

Most of all I have learnt to enjoy and live happily with my beloved VIRUSED HIPPEASTRUMS

Dear Arif,
I thought of you when my virused Lady Jane and Rosalie bloomed. The blooms were lovely, but the leaves are very mottled and splotchy. But, they still put out fine blooms and so far, my approach to growing the virused ones under screen seems to be working. If I only lose a couple plants a year to virus (a few too many in my mine), well that's ok. Guess I can grow some in the house year round if they mean that much to me. I am also seriously looking at building a honest to goodness greenhouse/screenhouse. That should provide a little more protection and maybe I won't have to haul so many pots to the side of the house in their "summer pasture"! My back complains about that for days after I move them all (about 250 plants)!

I hope that some of my Pap crosses take. Many of them looked promising, but then aborted. I'll send you what I get!!

Take care Arif...it's already HOT here, so can only imagine what your summer is like.
:-)
Kristi

Kristi, Will you please email me. You don't have your email link active on your member page. pam

Pam, there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the distribution of mosaic, mainly due to the fact that some plant cultivars are more susceptable than others. Some may never exhibit the symptoms,even though they have the disease.
Del

hello
Kristi, It is 47C + and the sun is literally roasting the plant. This patch gets only 6 hour sun.
{{gwi:408114}}From Misc 2012

It breaks my heart poor darlings get stressed both in winter and again in summer.
Atleast they do not require Heat treatment.
Arif

Del you said, "Some may never exhibit the symptoms,even though they have the disease."

So if this is the way the virus works, how would you identify carriers vs immune plants?

pam

Pam,

It's true that some of yours, mine, and all of our bulbs may not exhibit symptoms especially if they are kept in optimum cercomstances,i.e., cool roots with good drainage, the proper amount of dappled sun for most of the day, or full sun at the right times of the day so as not to burn or stress the bulb and of course the proper amount of nutrients and moisture. But, most all bulbs at some time or another find themselves under stress.

I have about 15 virused bulbs from a co-op from 2 years ago that when the leaves first emerged they were clear and green. A month or so on my too hot deck in full sun brought the virus symptoms on the leaves. They have been segregated and and this year when the new leaves emerged once again they are clear and green with no signs of virus. Looking at them currently, no one would believe they are affected. Now, I have planted these bulbs in 2 whiskey barrels at the far end of my yard and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this year with their roots cool and able to stretch all the way out into the moist fertilized soil that they never exhibit any signs of virus..

I also have a virused Estrella that I've had for 4 or more years now that every year sends up a clean first flush of leaves and blooms with 2 stalks with 4 to 6 flowers each time. Later in the summer it puts up a second flush of leaves and these show signs of virus. But once again, it blooms with 2 stalks with the appropriate number of flowers. This only goes to show that certain bulbs can live with this disease and aside from streaks in the leaves goes on it's merry way...my guess is that a NBF larvae will kill this bulb before the virus ever does.

If one has a small collection.. 10 to 15 bulbs it may be possible to keep the virus at bay but if one, like most of the rest of us on this forum, keep adding to our collection from here and there and everywhere (which most of us do) we will all end up with virused bulbs and yes, you may never know it until it's way too late.

It doesn't bode good for the future and we may have to just learn to live with it.

They say that papilio is virus free, someone on this forum had some tested that were planted in the ground among other virused bulbs and the tests came back clean for their papilios..Most of the experts also state that papilio does not contract virus..but could it be a carrier?

As I've stated many times on this forum I've lost probably up to 25 healthy bulbs to the Narcissis Bulb Fly over the past 2+ years..and last year I though I had it all figured out that by using a granular systemic containing imidacloprid I'd fix em..I lost as many last year as the year before....maybe more!

Donna

Donna I too have lost some to the NBF. I have treated the remaining bulbs with Bayer complete insecticide & they seem to be doing better, some are even blooming now. Hoping for a better season next year!