Amaryllis Challenge (open to all)

[Horus]

OK I am counting this as hitting the Christmas deadline, a quick look this morning shows the flower bud just cracking open
So in time for the New Year I should be able to post my fully opened flower

[LovelyLadyLux]

Looking good! The buds on the first stock of mine are all spread out (4 flowers) but have not yet actually opened into a bloom. The bud on the second stalk has not yet opened or even cracked open a bit yet at all.

[Kiya]

Looking good Horus & believe it or not I have nice pink flowers from mine too.

Horus...Didn't you say around March for flowers

[Horus]

Horus...Didn't you say around March for flowers

Yes I did, just shows you I don't know anything when it comes to Hyacinths

[Kiya]

The ones in the other dish looks though they're going to be a nice blue/purple colour
.

[Horus]

They should all look nice when they are all fully out, don't forget the piccies.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Really quite like hyacinths and their fragrance is wonderful

[Horus]

I now have a second flower stem starting on my plant

[LovelyLadyLux]

Having a second flower stem starting now will definitely mean a much longer life to your plant. My second bud has not yet started to 'crack' open but it is as tall as the stalk that is flowering.

Granted it is 9pm on the 27th and this is my flower. On the 25th it was 4 long flower pods - all red but none open. The first flower has now opened, the second one a bit more than half way and the other two flowers are still in bud but there will be 4 total.





This is a close to what an open flower on my amaryllis will be.


You can see the second flower stalk is right up there so it isn't going to be too long before it'll be open. Still non-existent leaves - can see 2 but they're mere inches high.

[Horus]

Thats a real lovely colour LLL, a very deep red and the flowers are very big. To be honest I had almost forgotten what the flowers looked like when they are fully out, if yours manage to flower together it will look quite spectacular.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'm hoping I'd get all 4 flowerettes open at the same time and I'm also hoping I'd get all 4 of the second stalk going too. Time will tell. It was called "Red Lion" so it is living up to its name. Also waiting for the leaves to start to move but so far they're not budging.

[Horus]

Mine was called 'Orange' something or other so won't be a deep red.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I just finished moving my amarllyis out of a Christmas themed pot into another one as I'm taking down all my Christmas stuff today. I managed to touch the bulb and it is SOFT and the bulb is actually rocking in the earth which leads me to think it isn't even growing!

It came with lots of roots which I spread out and covered with soil but feeling it now the bulb has the paper of the bulb on top but it is soft to the touch (and the bulb was quite firm when I bought it).

I don't believe the roots are doing anything other than stabilizing the plant in the soil as it doesn't seem they're bringing in any nutrients. Is the bulb of your amaryllis going soft H? Kinda like an onion that is starting to rot? Or is it still hard when you press on the outside of it?

[Horus]

Oh dear LLL, I am sorely tempted to give you a risque answer to your question, but I will resist it
Let us just say my bulb is quite firm

[LovelyLadyLux]

Hmm - good to know your bulb is firm H!

Again I'm back to where I'm thinking my bulb is so genetically prepared to bloom it is sucking all the nutrients out of the bulb just to flower.

[Horus]

Just on a point LLL, I just put a bit of gravel in the base of the pot for drainage and packed it in with the compost supplied. I barely give it any water and maybe in the last month it would not amount to two cupfulls, if that.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I didn't put any extra gravel for drainage but the pot I have has big holes and then maybe quarter inch plastic thingys that keep the inside pot up from the outside pot. I've watered very sparingly too. I do water but not enough to ever say the earth was totally soaked - just a sprinkle to get it going.

I'm half a mind once the flowers are done to yank it out of the pot to see exactly what the roots are doing as I'm certain they're not doing much other than holding the plant upright.

[Horus]

It does seem like your bulb has started to rot, so very unlikely to grow again next year. I have never tried keeping one for longer, but if like other bulbs it will need the leaves to stay on a while to regenerate the bulb and then maybe bend them over similar to Daffodils until the leaves turn brown, then lift them to dry out again like an Onion.

[Kiya]

here are my Hyacinths, as you can see there are pink/blue purple ones coming up

Really chuffed as usually everything dies on me

[Horus]

They are looking good Kiya and you even have a blue one comming up