On reconsidering I will move mine to the way that it "should" be planted, but there is still a part of me that wonders: "Why so shallow?"

When the bulb is cut and the neck dries out, there are plenty of nooks and crannies for water and moisture to collect and start the process of rotting. I plant mine up to the shoulders and control watering, never over the top, but around the bulb. Once the bulb grows, the tissue expands, leaves grow and "seal" off the bulb from moisture getting inside. Every year, in pots, I repeat the cycle. Those growing in flower beds pull themselves down, but I let the leaves die back naturally (don't cut them) and the necks are sealed.

Regardless of how deep you plant the bulbs, when you get 4 huge blooms on a tall scape, you may need to stake them to prevent the scape from snapping off.
K

My Hippeastrum grow well in my zone 7b New Jersey garden. I plant them with several inches of soil covering the bulb. Scarlet Baby is a FANTASTIC performer! It is very Hardy! It has foliage that is superior to many other amaryllis available today.

Ya know...if it works for you, keep doing it! I know what works for me in the Gulf Coast area. I have over 700 bulbs, likely 500+ pots now. I recently added ~200 to my collection (not counting new bulbs purchased this year), so I am just going to continue doing what I've done for 25 years.

If you are just getting started, you can work out your "system" with a few bulbs and then add a few more every year. Yes, you may lose a few along the way, but the bulbs are pretty forgiving.

K

PS, I got to thinking that the offsets that grow from the base of a bulb certainly aren't cut at the neck like bulbs we buy in the autumn are. They do just great; however, because they aren't cut and naturally dry and "seal" their necks, they aren't as prone to rot while they continue to grow and thrive beneath the surface of the soil!

This post was edited by kaboehm on Sat, Nov 29, 14 at 22:39

Palmfan, please tell us more about the hippeastrum you plant in your garden. As you may know, not all hippeastrum grow well outside in your zone, so if you could share your successes with us that would be much appreciated. So, what do you do to protect them in the ground over winter? How many winters have you had them in the ground? What varieties do you find to be hardy outside in your zone?
Thanks so much for sharing as people often ask what varieties would grow outside and it would be great to be able to share your successes with them. - J

Radiantpoppy,

I second all that Kristi said :)

When we first get bulbs they usually have very little,if any, leaves or roots and are much more prone to rot until they develop both. Notice I said 'prone' to rot - not guaranteed to rot. We find that when you plant with the bulb neck above the soil to prevent water from entering, we lose less bulbs to rot. And, when you have a number of bulbs, especially new bulbs without a root system or leaves, many of us prefer this tried and true way to plant so we sleep better :) However, if you want, you could try an experiment; plant two bulbs using both methods and water the same. See what happens and please share your results - we always enjoy passing along information! - j

My biggest clump of Scarlet baby amaryllis is growing in a sheltered southeast facing location near the foundation. It gets no additional winter protection. Another clump grows out in the open, but gets a light mulch of pine needles. Both clumps had at least one four scape bulbs!
This year I'm attempting to grow a beautiful large red Hippeastrum amaryllis with the variety name of Olaf. Olaf produced 20-22 leaves from its obviously now giant bulb. Expect Olaf may exceed four scapes next spring. I crossed Olaf with Appleblossom as the male partner. I raised a few seedlings by the seed flotation method. So Olaf has children!
I unpotted Appleblossom a few days ago, deeply setting the plant so that about two inches of soil cover the neck. Hope to get two or three scapes next June.
By the way, Scarlet baby is considered a miniature, but it is a larger and much more vigorous plant than Orange star Hippeastrun amaryllis. I believe Scarlet baby is very resistant to the mosaic virus some of my other large flowered Hippeastrums have become infected with.
I'm a "zone pusher" who likes to grow plants that others don't have. I even have Sabal minor palms reproducing in my yard! Fun to have Palm "weeds" sprouting in my yard!

Palmfan,

Congratulations on all your gardening successes!! It seems you have a micro climate that allows you to grow outside your zone - nice!
Since you have grown Scarlet baby in the ground I'm guessing you would recommend it to overwinter in zone 7/8 :). Have you over wintered Olaf or Appleblossom in the ground, or is this their first winter? Oh, and congratulations on your babies! - J

Think I over wintered Appleblossom years ago on Staten Island, New York in zone 7a. Would be confident with Scarlet Baby in zone 6 as a foundation planting. I suspect it is worthy of trial even in zone 5 with careful siting along a south facing foundation wall with well drained fertile soil. Would be important to avoid runoff from guitar downspouts. Have succeeded with several large flowered Hippeastrum hybrids in zone 7, with minimal to no protection, except deeper planting than usually recommended. I feel that the large flowered hybrids, with careful siting, can be grown with confidence in zone 7. Colder zones are worth trying with the caveat of great siting and mulching. I would NOT plant store bought amaryllis in the fall as these are eager to grow NOW since they have been prepared to be ready to grow and bloom shortly after planting. Experiment with these lovely plants. They're so lovely in the garden!

Thanks Palmfan for taking the time to post. Maybe some of our forum members might want to try to create their own cold-tolerant hybrids using scarlet Baby.
My bulbs are out all year (in pots) as I live in a warm climate. The drier winters signals growth to slow down for most bulbs while Lemon Lime blooms year-round. I am determined to try some in the ground this year.
Funny when you mentioned 'zone pushing', as I would love to be able to grow lilacs, but since that will never happen, I will just console myself with looking at pictures Donna posts to the forum and the catleyas that are beginning to bloom. - J

Jody(i?),
Your Cattleya looks just like mine! Do you know the name of yours?
Mine is the same color and very very fragrant. Usually blooms by now, but we had such a mild summer, it probably has another 2-3 weeks!

I'd love to trim it to encourage new growth. It's been in the same pot about 15 years and aerial roots have grown all over the pot!

Thanks,
Kristi

Here is a link that might be useful: Kristi's Cattleya

Hi Kristi,

Your orchid is gorgeous! I don't know how I missed it!

Yes this is an old variety and I love it!! Most of the cattleya are blooming but this one and a large white one bloom through Christmas and New Years and I usually bring them in and hang them for a couple of weeks The scent is intoxicating!!! I know its name is buried in its overgrown wooden basket and I will look for it in the AM. I should divide it to prevent rot, but it looks so incredible when it blooms that I keep stalling.

Oh, this year at one of the botanical garden sales I noticed that they were hanging fertilizer over the orchids from little net bags. Have you seen these? You fill the bags with a couple of tsp of osmocote attach to the top of the baskets and the orchids get fertilized when they are watered. And the time release fertilizer doesn't fall out the bottom. What a time saver!!! - Jody