Hi Rosemary,
Look at the hardware store for a stake made from a semi-flexible metal rod coated in thick green plastic. I cant find a brand name on them but they last for many years as long as the plastic stays intact.Menards has them with the small wire garden fencing.They come in a wide variety of sizes from pencil thin to almost rebar size. Lora

So far, the only plant I've had to stake is Minerva... her leaves grow so long and large that they require a little help to stay upright. I should get something a bit more attractive, but I just use a bamboo hoop with garden twistie-ties to hold up her leaves. I recently bought a couple of metal stakes with the open hoop on top... I haven't used them yet, but I figure I might need them as my newer bulbs begin to grow their leaves.

All of my bulbs are planted in heavy clay pots, so I'm not worried about any of those tipping over, and none of the flowers have been too heavy for their stems yet... I only anticipate using stakes for the leaves.

I never have to stake the leaves, only the flowers. It seems like that the leaves develop well enough in my growing conditions, so they don't fall over, even if they are huge...

I think your growing conditions have a lot to do with the sturdiness of the leaves... Minerva grows in an east window 365 days a year... she doesn't get as much sunshine or natural conditions, like breezes that make stems and leaves more sturdy as they grow... so, I'm forced to tie up her leaves so they can all grow in the sunshine entering the window.

I think that several others will grow huge leaves and need staking, but there will be those that grow shorter leaves, too.

Your bulbs are lucky to have natural conditions to grow in! Mother Nature is the best garden caretaker, and She makes sure that plants adapt to whatever She throws at them!

I experienced that they were not as sturdy and strong when I kept the bulbs inside in pots. Now that they are potted out, the leaves are actually so hard that they could cut with their edges, and they are really hard, so one would have to use force to break one off.. I like it. These leaves feel like some cactus leaf...

I grow in a greenhouse and I rarely need to stake established plants, although there are a few that tend to need stakes. More commonly, the need arises when plants bloom before they are property rooted. Some bulbs apparently are notoriously reluctant "rooters", so if one starts bailing out of its pots, I stake it.

Another question on this forum prompted a suggestion to check Home Depot for their stakes. I did, and they have the above-mentioned metal stakes coated in green plastic. I have used shorter versions (created for orchids) and they work very well.

Most of the time, if I have problems withleaves falling over, it is because I moved the plants around too much without paying much attention and kind of broke them... But I noticed that after a while, they stand up again, even stronger. :o) I should stop trying to express myself now. Just picture these things written down here... Innuendos. :o)

I like the green coated strong stakes that I find at Lowes here. They nicely fit a top heavy stem.

Amaryllis that is grown from a dormant bulb...as I was told...grows the flower before its roots. So it tips over much more easily than one grown in a garden who has established roots. That seems to be the case for mine too so I never questioned it.
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It always depends on the circumstances. If you pot it and put it in a colder place, it will not bring the flowers that quick, thus have more time to grow its roots.

I noticed that the bulbs I planted and placed in my north facing window where it's a bit chillier are slower to push up scapes, and they seem to be better rooted in their pots than the bulbs I planted and put in the east window where it's warmer... those pushed up scapes right away, but seem to be loose in their pots, as if they didn't take the time to root first.

The only bulb that seems to be leaning in its pot is Exotic Star... it has a second scape with two flowers open now, and it would require staking if it weren't leaning against the window frame... the other bulbs that are blooming have shorter and straighter scapes, and aren't leaning at all.

The only time that I stake my bulbs is when they new and are not rooted well. Like you say, if the scape forms and the flowers blooms before the bulb has firmly planted its roots, then the weight of the blooms can cause the bulb to tilt or fall.

I use bamboo stakes, broken to form an upside down V. Then I use the Velcro tie wraps sold in the garden center.

When the bulb has firmly rooted or the seed pods have ripened (which ever comes first), I remove the stakes and ties and reuse them the next year, if necessary.

They quite economical and will last for years!

Jodi, where's the pictures of Exotic Star???

Now that my room is colder than usual, the bulbs root out first and slowly push up the scapes, so they are firmly sitting in the pot by the time the blooms come... Now, I have to wait longer for a bloom, but I think it is worth the wait... I expect Promise to bloom out nicely soon.

I'm just like elizabeth, I just use the green colored bamboo sticks if I need a stake. My newly planted bulbs go downstairs where it is cooler 60s. Usually, they get to root there first before slowly putting out a scape, just like Soultan's bulbs. This lessens the need to stake the blooms for me. But then, there are varieties that produce really long scapes (Candy Floss and Picotee) or heavy blooms (Promise and Double Dragon) that need staking as a preventive measure.

This is one reason why I'm getting to like the small flowered ones specially the Sonatas and Sonatinis. They very rarely need staking inspite of lots of blooms/scape and keeps a decent length of scape. Top Choice has maintained it's 11-12" scape with 9 blooms without even tilting.

Rapido almost fell over for me. It had so many blooms at the same time that it could not keep all the scapes straight up.

Exotic Star is leaning, and Limona is just beginning to lean a bit... I might need to stake those 2... Red Pearl may need staking, as well... the first scape is really tall, and it hasn't even opened yet!