Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

Cheers

Lord0

On 18/3/07 13:59, in article
, "Lord0"
wrote:

Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

I had one for years, never re-potted it and kept it pretty dry. It flowered
year after year after year.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

On 18 Mar 2007 06:59:27 -0700, "Lord0" wrote:

Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

Cheers

Lord0

I've had one growing and flowering for about 30 years. I grew some of
its seeds about 20 years ago and a few of the plants are also
flowering every year.

Most of the Amaryllids you see for sale are Hippeastrums. They are
easier to keep flowering than the other species.

Steve

Lord0 writes
Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

No reason at all not to keep it going. The original bulb will flower
year after year and steadily get larger, and it will produce offshoots
which is a few years will start flowering themselves.
--
Kay

"Lord0" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

Cheers

Lord0

The bulbs are reared to give that one wonderful display and unless you are
prepared to give them a strict regime of care then it is unlikely that you
will get much ,if anything, in the way of blooms.
This site summarises the best technique for their care, but you may have to
endure a season without flowers until the bulb has recovered from the
commercial forced growing.
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/amaryllis.html

On 18 Mar, 17:07, "Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)"
wrote:
"Lord0" wrote in message

ups.com... Hi there,

I'll keep this short. I got an Amaryllis bulb for Xmas which has now
flowered (and very nice it was too), the instructions stated that it
should be discarded after flowering. Is there no way I can keep it
going for next year? It seems a shame to destroy it.

Cheers

Lord0

The bulbs are reared to give that one wonderful display and unless you are
prepared to give them a strict regime of care then it is unlikely that you
will get much ,if anything, in the way of blooms.
This site summarises the best technique for their care, but you may have to
endure a season without flowers until the bulb has recovered from the
commercial forced growing.http://www.thegardenhelper.com/amaryllis.html

Best thing to do with them is to keep them growing, saw it on a
gardening prog and tried it, worked very well, just keep them pot
bound, water and feed, and you will be rewarded with more blooms,
often more than one flower spike. Best I had was a flower spike with 6
blooms, and mine were kept groeing for several years with NO stopping.

"Mike in Spain" wrote:
Best thing to do with them is to keep them growing, saw it on a
gardening prog and tried it, worked very well, just keep them pot
bound, water and feed, and you will be rewarded with more blooms,
often more than one flower spike. Best I had was a flower spike with 6
blooms, and mine were kept groeing for several years with NO stopping.
---
Yes, I remember seeing a Gardener's World prog. a few years back where a
lady in Wales, I think, grew hundreds of them in her house and around her
garden. She had Amaryllis enthusiasts from around the world visiting her
hoping to discover the secret of her success. I have never been able to get
any of mine to flower after the first year and envy greatly those of you who
do.

Mike, in Peterborough

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:06:33 GMT, "MikeCT"
wrote:


"Mike in Spain" wrote:
Best thing to do with them is to keep them growing, saw it on a
gardening prog and tried it, worked very well, just keep them pot
bound, water and feed, and you will be rewarded with more blooms,
often more than one flower spike. Best I had was a flower spike with 6
blooms, and mine were kept groeing for several years with NO stopping.
---
Yes, I remember seeing a Gardener's World prog. a few years back where a
lady in Wales, I think, grew hundreds of them in her house and around her
garden. She had Amaryllis enthusiasts from around the world visiting her
hoping to discover the secret of her success. I have never been able to get
any of mine to flower after the first year and envy greatly those of you who
do.

Mike, in Peterborough

My experience is as yours, Mike. You are not alone.
BobFlowerdew once said on GQT that it's not worth the effort.
I think the thing is to keep the leaves growing for a while after
flowering, and feeding, to build up the bulb for next year.
I've given up trying. I don't like throwing out a bulb, but they are
too much trouble unless you have a large conservatory or greenhouse.
I remember that lady on GW. She had a room full of them!



Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore writes
On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:06:33 GMT, "MikeCT"
wrote:


"Mike in Spain" wrote:
Best thing to do with them is to keep them growing, saw it on a
gardening prog and tried it, worked very well, just keep them pot
bound, water and feed, and you will be rewarded with more blooms,
often more than one flower spike. Best I had was a flower spike with 6
blooms, and mine were kept groeing for several years with NO stopping.
---
Yes, I remember seeing a Gardener's World prog. a few years back where a
lady in Wales, I think, grew hundreds of them in her house and around her
garden. She had Amaryllis enthusiasts from around the world visiting her
hoping to discover the secret of her success. I have never been able to get
any of mine to flower after the first year and envy greatly those of you who
do.

My experience is as yours, Mike. You are not alone.
BobFlowerdew once said on GQT that it's not worth the effort.
I think the thing is to keep the leaves growing for a while after
flowering, and feeding, to build up the bulb for next year.
I've given up trying. I don't like throwing out a bulb, but they are
too much trouble unless you have a large conservatory or greenhouse.
I remember that lady on GW. She had a room full of them!

I used to grow them about 30 years ago, using Mike-in-Spain's technique
of keeping them in growth as long as they wanted to be, and keeping them
pot-bound. Flowering increased year on year, especially once the off
shoots started flowering too. I stopped growing them with upheavals in
RL.

More recently I've started growing them again with less success, so
maybe Rupert's comment is true in that the commercial growing has now
become more intensive and it's more difficult to keep the bulb going.
But I read on here a couple of years back that they like their shoulders
to be baked in the summer, so I've made sure the tops of the bulbs are
clear of the soil, and that they're in a sunny spot in summer, and that
seems to have initiated flowering again.

One warning - they are very susceptible to slug damage.

--
Kay