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jane__ny

Planting one year old seedlings?

jane__ny
9 years ago

Can they go in the ground now?

I received seeds last year from some wonderful people on this forum. Donna, Carol and I know there was another woman. I am so grateful!

Most germinated last year and look good. I'm wondering if I should grow them another year or can I put them in the ground now?

Jane

Comments (14)

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

    Where do you live?
    K

  • jane__ny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sarasota, Florida. Very hot and humid. I have old amaryllis growing on the property. First time with seedlings.

    Jane

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    9 years ago

    Hi Jane!

    Always good to hear that seeds you've sent folks have germinated and grown well for them!

    If I lived in Florida, I don't think I'd hesitate to put 1yr+ seedlings in the ground. I've planted them in the ground up here in MA and for the summer at least they do very well, only they had to be dug up for the winter.

    Recently I planted some mature virused bulbs out in a micro-climate area of our yard and left them for the entire winter, mulched heavily, and most all of them survived and some even bloomed so I think your seedlings if planted in a place that doesn't get water logged in the winter, should do just fine! Good luck,

    Donnaâºâºâº

  • jodik_gw
    9 years ago

    If there's a worry that they may not make it through the winter, you could always leave them in containers and just bring them indoor, or place them in a sheltered spot when the seasons change... then plant them out the following spring.

    Personally, I'd probably wait until the following spring to place them directly in the garden... but that's just me. You know your own climate and micro-environment better than anyone.

  • jane__ny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Donna, I just took a few pics. I think they look ready to go in. I notice some seem to be sending up small offshoots. Probably better to get them out of the pots.

    Here's some of the group
    {{gwi:421903}}

    {{gwi:421904}}
    These were started 10-2013, so not quite a year. Pretty nice for seed starting.

    Can't wait to see what my namesake look like
    Exotica x Lady Jane x Dancing Queen
    {{gwi:421905}}

    Thank you very much!
    Jane

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

    Jane....plant them!
    ;-)
    Kristi (in TX)

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    9 years ago

    Jane, they look great! If some of those were some of the varieties that I sent you, are you sure they aren't a bit older than late 2013? If not, they are much more vigorous than any of mine and regardless of how old they are they do look ready to stick their feet in the earth! Plant away....âºâºâº Donna

  • jane__ny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Donna, all the seedlings pictured are yours. My notes say I planted them on 10/7/2013, which would make them 9 months old.

    I also received seed from Carol, labeled 'Pink Amaryllis'. They are not in the above pictures.

    I soaked all the seed first and planted them. They spent the year outside in full Florida sun and heat. I admit to being somewhat neglectful about watering as they were not near the house and I would forget them...maybe a good thing.

    I did lose some over that time frame and some seeds did not germinate.

    It has been terribly hot here and I worried about planting them outside. The soil is sand and dries out quickly. But we have been getting our late afternoon thunderstorms almost daily.

    I want to thank you for the healthy seed. You are an incredible grower and I can't wait to see what they look like in bloom.

    Jane

  • sun_worshiper
    9 years ago

    Nice seedlings Jane! I would wait until fall and then plant them out when the daytime temps aren't going into the 90s. I'm in central FL and have many in ground. I actually direct sow seed too with reasonable success. Hippeastrum are fully winter hardy here, your more likely to lose them in summer than winter. In summer ones in full sun in a wet spot can rapidly collapse from fungal issues. My soil is all sand, and some in full sun still struggle just from the daily rains. However those in part shade do awesome! Spring is the best time to plant out seedlings so they acclimate before the heat of summer, but I have a number of trays of seedlings I didn't have time to plant out in spring that I will plant out in fall. Not worried about cold protection at all. Mine seem to go green dormant in summer - they keep their leaves, but stop growing. Once it cools off a bit they grow again in fall. So I'll watch for my in ground mature plants to star showing some fall growth, then plant out the seedlings.

  • jane__ny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Sun, my thinking exactly. I think I'll wait for the weather to cool down a bit.

    My area is full South sun. There are Amaryllis growing there (planted by the previous owner), and they have bloomed well. I will add these seedlings to the area. I am also sand. Very poor soil although there is a huge Gardenia growing there and flowers profusely.

    These seedlings have grown in full sun and have made it. I can't deal with working outdoors in this heat. I'll wait until Sept.

    Thanks for the info,
    Jane

  • haweha
    9 years ago

    My suggestion is, to replant them into balcony boxes of 50 or 60 cm length, not the cheapest brand but the more voluminous instead - at 2 lines ÃÂ 6 to 8 Bulbs each, iow 12 to 16 bulbs per box. The advantage is, you can always relocate them to the most suitable spot (perfectly where it is bright but the Sun does not "burn") and it will be the easiest to control the crop continually. I have excellent experience with this method.
    The balcony boxes I use are from plastics and I drill numerous additional holes into the bottom of them for better aeration from below. And I exclusively water 1)from the bottom, using 2)lukewarm water with diluted feeding (0.3 g/L continually) which particular TWO ESSENTIAL détail of my husbandry regimen proved very beneficial for the growth of the crop and for the health of the bulbs, provided I keep the boxes safe from rain. Over the years I found out that a VERY important environmental factor is the TEMPERATURE of the SUBSTRATE; 23ðCelsius (73ðFahrenheit) PERMANENTLY (day-and-night) during the growth period appear to be the optimum for the majority of Hippeastrums, and everybody who reads this and who was, hitherto, not as, or not-at-all, satisfied with the growth of THEIR crop, should try to optimize this environmental condition. The air temperature is naturally subject to bigger fluctuations, and generally, lower temperatures will lead to better quality of leaves, particularly indoors where light conditions are poorer - the crucial thing is the temperatures at the bulb and root level.

    This post was edited by haweha on Sat, Jul 26, 14 at 8:18

  • sun_worshiper
    9 years ago

    Glad to help Jane.

    Haweha, thanks for the great detailed information. It makes a lot of sense. My bulbs that do poorly in the sun are the ones that do not get a cool root run. The spots that get just enough shade to keep the soil from being too hot do much better. Now I want to go stick a thermometer in the soil to see how hot it gets:) I'd never seen any specifics on what soil temp they prefer, thanks so much for the great info!

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

    I'm going to give the opposite suggestion. (Zones 9a and 9b are very different than Zone 7.) Almost any kind of pot or planter in Florida allows the roots of plants to cook if it gets any direct sun at all. For me, and I have hundreds of amaryllis, the plants that do best, mature the quickest and appear the healthiest, are in the ground and receive early day or late day sun. Plants that get no sun at all are unreliable bloomers. Plants that are in full sun are scorched and suffering. So it is part sun/part shade that works best, with the sun being either early or late in the day.

    Those seeds came from plants with flowers that are solid, hot pink. They're my faves. :)

    Carol in Jacksonville

  • jane__ny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here's the area I was going to plant them in. This was taken a year ago after we moved in.

    You can see what is left of the grass how dry and hot the area is. This photo was taken last year in February.

    Since we moved here we have enlarged the area. It is extremely dry here in winter with little rain yet the bulbs flowered and have now spread quite a bit. I did not plant these bulbs.

    We made the area bigger and this is where I would plant the seedlings. I would water them more often but this is a very hot area, full South sun from early morning till sunset.

    I worry about the seedlings handling it. Although, as I said, they have grown in high sun in the pots so they might do fine.

    It is so hot here in July and August I don't know if I have the fortitude to prepare the area.

    I appreciate your input Carol. I might take the chance and put the seedlings in the ground.

    I can't wait to see what they look like.

    Jane

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