You only need to let the foliage die completely back and when it easily comes off the bulb you can store them. I put them in a box with vermiculite and store in a cool place. Never loose any and the bulbs are larger each year. You can pull out when they are still green but do wait until fall if possible. I just rinse the soil off and let them dry a bit and then place them in buckets inside until the foliage dries. My friend leaves the babies attached and then plants them in shallow soil for the summer and he had a few bloom and lots of new bulbs for next year. I always toss them out but I might change my ways or else give them to him.

I have never left the seedlings in water long enough to develop a leaf, probably because I never understand the benefits of waiting for a leaf. An important point about seedlings is that they seem to be extremely forgiving, so it probably does not matter what you do. Despite what is true about larger bulbs, seedlings seem very tolerant of flooded conditions, so they appear content to sit in water for a while. In fact before I knew anything about Hippies, I once had a batch of seedlings growing in a pot that had no drainage holes. I left it outside all summer, and on occasion I would lie it on its side to drain the water out. After rain, sometimes there would be standing water above the soil level for several days before I would get around to draining it. The seedlings thrived despite the neglect and were quite robust by the end of the summer. If these had been adult bulbs, I probably would have lost them all to rot. I don't recommend this as a way to grow seedlings, but just want to emphasize how forgiving seedlings are. Also, once potted in soil, initially it is probably better to err on the side of overwatering rather than underwatering. So plant the seedlings whenever it is convenient. I cannot attest to the ease of planting after developing a leaf, but I can't imagine anything being much easier than planting them when the root is still quite short. I just lay them on the soil, making certain that the root is inserted into the soil. Depending on the length of the root, it may be necessary to make a cut or hole in the soil to avoid breaking the root. Then I sprinkle perhaps 1/4 inch of soil on top. The reason I pot them up early is that it seems logical to get the root in contact with the soil as soon as possible so that it can begin taking up nutrients to sustain more growth. And I worry that I could easily break a longer root when planting. And finally, roots that develop underwater are anatomically and physiologically different than those that develop in soil, and may perform less well when later exposed to drier conditions. This is often a problem when cuttings of other house plants are rooted in water, and they can experience substantial shock when transplanted into soil. But these are all "theoretical" arguments that clearly must not matter much for hippeastrum, based on the experience of others. Whew, sorry for the long email, and I hope it did not sound like I was trying to lecture anyone. I mostly wanted to emphasize that there is little need to fret over planting too early or too late, and I got a bit carried away! Bill

great, thanks. i did already have them outside a few times for a few hours so they got some wind and natural sunlight. will get the fan on them now.

If it's growing well I'd leave it for now. Re-potting will cause it to pause growing, and perhaps loose a few leaves. However, if re-potting includes placing it in a larger container, and you do it right, it should resume growing pretty quickly with the extra space. For the record I don't have any FLFs, only common figs.