Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
Question of the Week
Delinquent Amaryllis Blooms
Q. You’ve written about how easy it is to keep amaryllis from year to year, and force them into bloom for the holidays.
Well, I’ve tried your recommendations for a couple of years now with no success. The bulbs do eventually produce beautiful flowers, but
in April and even May – not Christmas! Either I’m doing something wrong, or you have no clue as to what you’re talking about!
A. Did my wife put you up to asking this question? She’s been frustrated by my inability to reliably bloom our amaryllis bulbs in time for the holidays – and, therefore, also has little confidence that I have a clue as to what I’m doing! Anyway, let me offer some of the things that I’ve learned about reblooming amaryllis bulbs over the past several years.
First, cut off the flower stalks just above the top of the bulb as soon as the blooms begin to fade – but do not cut back the long, strap-like leaves.
Second, to increase the bulb and flower size, amaryllis needs as much light as you can possibly give them. Therefore,
gradually move your plants outdoors from dappled shade to full sun over the course of several weeks after the chance of
frost has passed in mid- to late May. Keep the potting soil evenly moist, but not wet, and fertilize once every couple of
weeks with half-strength houseplant fertilizer.
Next comes the tricky part.
After a dormant period of about two months, it can take amaryllis anywhere from one to three months to flower. So, counting back from the holidays, you’ll want to move at least some of your amaryllis bulbs to a cool (45°F – 55°F), dark spot in early to mid-August and stop watering them. Move more of them to the same place every week or so through September.
In mid- to late October, repot the first amaryllis bulbs you placed in storage and set them in a room that’s very warm –
ideally at least 75F, or set them on top of a soil warming or heating cables.
It's not even necessary that the bulbs are in brightly lit room
until new leaves starting emerging from the top of the bulbs.
Continue bringing a few bulbs out of storage every week or two to extend the bloom throughout the winter months.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s this exposure to warm temperatures that’s very important to kick the bulbs out of dormancy and bring them into bloom as fast as possible.