Sometimes amaryllis really need a lot of warmth to get growing, eg. a sunny window sill might not be warm enough if it is behind curtains at night.

Or if the house is 68 F or below during the day.

I have had good luck waking up amaryllis by placing them right in front of a heater vent for a week or two and only watering with warm water. Be care not to let it dry out completely.

Wildcat

I've found that sometimes bulbs will just sit there... it usually means they're concentrating on producing roots. I have several pots in my office that have been pretty static for a while but now I notice they are really going crazy producing flower stems.

Don't water too much initially, keep them fairly warm and stand back!

you might try a little time in front of your heat vent or radiator. i find that a day or two of that, followed by a little water, helps to get a bulb growing if it is otherwise ready.

There are indeed bulbs which received a rather short preparation time and those need some weeks of a lag-phase before they resume growing.

Sometimes this can be recognized from the shape of the bulb: It looks rather "fresh" not so strongly dried out.

It is very advantageous to pot up even those bulbs instantly! A better regenerated root network gives far better bloom performance and early, rich formation of new leaves.

Hans-Werner

I started potting up my Amaryllis since October with 2 weeks intervals thinking I would always have an Amaryllis bloom. Appleblossom was first, she bloomed in time. Next was Red Lion, opened her blooms just before Appleblossom lost hers. The third one was Aphrodite. Unfortunately, Aphrodite was a little bit lazy in waking up leaving me with no blooms right now. I guess some bulbs are just different. I placed Aphrodite by the kitchen window beside the refrigerator where it was warmer. She liked that and is now showing the tip of a flower stalk. Maybe Charisma would surprise me with a present and open her blooms by Christmas. Wishing u all a wonderful Christmas!!!

Thanks everyone! It sounds like I have a variety of the issues you mentioned. North Dakota is harsh all year round. If it were July, we'd have 100 degree temps-- but now it is way cold and no matter how high the heat it in this place it never gets warm. Also, it didn't have much of a root system when I planted the bulb-- so compound the two and I think I just have a slow, rooting bulb. Thank God I'm leaving this state, soon. Anyone living in Colorado, here? I'm headed to C Springs-- I hope it'll be more plant friendly there. Thanks again.

Hi Ryan - I am having the same problem with some of my bulbs. We are in the middle of a cold snap - minus 24 - and inside the house 65 is considered a heat wave (it usually hovers at 61-62). It simply doesn't get much warmer than that (old house - forced air heating). But, a lot of my plants seem to thrive on this temperature, and last year all my first year bulbs produced a gorgeous display. I just might place a few of the slow-pokes on top of a register for a day or two as suggested. Good luck!

Anna (brrrrrrr!) below - beautiful miniature "Jewel" - 2 stalks at the same time!
{{gwi:443906}}

My first bulb took 3 months before it decided to send up a stem.....I had it placed in a window...where it was fairly cool. Eventually I took it out of the window and that is when it decided to send up a stem....I didn't think about this at the time....but looking back now......

The first 3 I planted this fall are in a nice warm room during the day and a little cool at night....they are growing quite quickly.

Sierra

My Sugar Candy is still sleeping. It was planted around November. The bulb is firm and looks well. It is one of the biggest amaryllis misteries I experienced so far. So I guess, some of them are prima donnas.

Hello
Hans-Werner; It is good to hear from you. I thought you lost interest in us novices.
I am awaiting a reply of my e-mail.
ARIF

Scientists Unlock Secret Of What Makes Plants Flower

Science Daily  A protein acting as a long-distance signal from leaf to shoot-tip tells plants when to flower, says new research published in Science Express.
The study reveals the likely mechanism by which the Arabidopsis plant flowers in response to changes in day length. Earlier research had shown that plants' leaves perceived seasonal changes in day length, which triggers a long-distance signal to travel through the plant's vascular system from the leaf to the shoot apex, where flowering is induced. However, the identity of the long-distance signal remained unclear.

This new research, carried out by scientists at Imperial College London and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, has led to the proposal that this signal is a protein known as Flowering Locus T Protein (FT protein), which is produced in leaves by the Flowering Locus T gene (FT gene). It travels through the plant's vascular system to the shoot apex, where it activates other genes, causing the plant to flower. The research team were able to track the progress of the protein through the plant by tagging it with a green fluorescent protein originally isolated from jellyfish, allowing it to be detected in living tissues using highly sensitive microscope systems.

The team then grafted two plants together, only one of which contained the gene for the fluorescent version of FT. This allowed them to show conclusively that FT protein moved from where it was produced in the leaves of one plant, across into the other plant.

The FT protein is produced when the FT gene is switched on by another gene known as CONSTANS. This is a key gene expressed in leaves which reacts to changes in day length.

Dr Colin Turnbull from Imperial College London's Division of Biology, who carried out the research, said: "This could be a really important breakthrough in plant science. Since the 1930s when it first became clear that something was communicating the perception of changes in day length in leaves to the shoot apex, and causing flowering, scientists have been trying to work out exactly how this mechanism works.

"Over the past couple of years several labs made exciting discoveries all pointing to the FT gene being central to controlling flowering time. Now that we have been able to track FT protein moving from its source in leaves to its destination in the shoot tip, we have a plausible explanation for how plants respond to day length. Parallel work in Japan shows very similar mechanisms operating in rice, so there is immediate potential to translate research into practical benefits for food crops. The ability to control flowering is of enormous commercial significance across food and non-food species, for example extending production seasons or designing plants better adapted to changing climate."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Imperial College London.

My bulb does not even have leaves, so I cannot paint it's proteins neon green to track it.

ARIF

The last post I saw from Hans was March 11. The post by Hans in this thread was from 2005. I hope he is OK and just busy.

Charles

Experts: I"ve read & reread your instruc. since Nov. Planted 4 unknowns that I've had for 4 or 5 yrs(2 rebloomed last yr)You said not to water after the initial watering after repotting. They look so dry I'm afraid the bulb will dry up. This is scareing me, I don't want to lose them. Instead of the scape emerging, I'm slowly getting the green leaves, which is what I always get - yr after yr, just leaves. I overwinter them in my greenhouse. Actually, my plan was to bring them in when the scape showed so we could enjoy them. Darn, no scapes. What am I doing wrong??? I just retired so now I have time to pamper them. Please help.Thanks

I know what you mean, I planted this bulb the 1st of Dec. and it has not done hardly anything. It has red blotch on it and it is still this big, it has shown no growth at all.

I know what you mean, I planted this bulb the 1st of Dec. and it has not done hardly anything. It has red blotch on it and it is still this big, it has shown no growth at all.

{{!gwi}}

Nopets...your bulb will be fine...it just takes time. What happened to that PATIENCE you were practicing? If you don't have any faith in nature...

How's this....pull it out and see if there are roots growing. If so, carefully plant it back. You are the kind that HAS TO SEE what is going on...so maybe the bulb is putting all of its energy into roots as it gets settled. (see post near top of this thread).

The scape is not drying out, it is not shriveled. It's just taking its time! If you look at the first photo that you posted and this one, it has grown quite a bit. Remember that bulbs that are stressed don't behave and grow the same way that pampered bulbs do!! Boxed kits aren't known for being pampered!!

You are worrying too much over this!
K

The roots are dry and shriveled up, it has red spots on the bulb itself,there are NO new roots growing at all. And it has a funny smell to it.Not stressing, just letting you know what it is doing.

If it were me I would just throw it in the trash then. It seems like it's causing you nothing but distress. I know it was a gift but maybe you should just focus on the other two pots of bulbs and get enjoyment from them.
K

I threw it away, I had bugs on them and did not want them to affect my other ones. I was a little sad, but the other ones will pep me up when they bloom. And the paperwhites are still pretty and so is the poinsetta. Thanks for all your help with the first one, some times you get it and sometimes it is not meant to be. Everything else is doing fine.

What kind of bugs??
K

tiny black and white bugs.

Fungus gnats, mealy bugs, ???