Garden

[Puzzle Piece]

I saved my bulb from last year and I've just pulled it out to start it blooming again. 

I've never done this before so will I be disappointed?

[cindyNC]

I've never been able to get mine to re-bloom, but it may have been the type of amaryllis bulb that I purchased. 

One of my neighbors has never been able to get any of them to rebloom when she plants them outside.  The other neighbor has one from her mother (and the neighbor is almost 90 years old) planted in a garden bed. That amaryllis re-blooms every year and it's grown to about three feet wide.  It's stunning. We live in NC, near the SC border. 

[ValuSkr]

I would think that if the plant had many leaves last year, and if you left them on long enough to recharge the bulb, and if the plant was in a sunny location, it should be good for an encore this year.

[AuntMame]

I cut the leaves off my amaryllis bulbs around this time of year, then put them in a dark, cold spot in the garage for 5-8 weeks. They need to go dormant and get cold for a spell. Then I bring them out around Christmas and start watering them again. They're blooming again by February. 

I repot them every 2 years with fresh sandy soil mixed with compost. Sometimes they sprout baby bulbs and I break those off and repot them in separate pots. 

The pot should be no bigger than 3" from the bulb. The bulb should be 1/3 above the dirt. 

After they bloom I keep them in the sun, baby and fertilize them until the next fall. They need lots of time and many weeks in the sun to recharge for blooming again. Sometimes though they surprise me and bloom again during the spring or summer. 

I don't put them outside in the garden, as they say one should do, because rabbits and chipmunks chew on them. 

I have one Red Lion that's been blooming every year for 15 years. Occasionally a bulb won't bloom one year because it's a bit tired out, but it will bloom again the following year if I treat it right. 

[gardenman]

Amaryllis are pretty easy to get to rebloom, just not at Christmas unless you're very vigilant. I never truly cared when they bloomed, I just enjoyed the flowers when they came. (Often March or so for me.) I'd keep them in a sunny window or under my plant lights while inside, then move them outside until the first frost (mid-October). Then I'd cut off the old foliage, stop watering, and put them somewhere cool and darker until new growth started.