Amaryllis blossoms broke off - now what?

13 years ago

I got an Amaryllis plant for Christmas that just bloomed, but I guess the blossoms were just heavy enough to where it broke off. I planted it in the soil thinking that might save the blossoms, but not being experienced with this plant, I don't know what to do or what to expect. Will it blossom again, or will this kill the plant? How do I handle this? Please help! I really want to keep this plant alive and going because it is so beautiful and I'd also like to learn more about care and feeding of this beautiful plant. Thanks!

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anna_in_quebec

13 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Sally - I read this just today - very good advice here:

Gardener and author Jill M. Nicolaus writes:

Each year, I purchase several new amaryllis bulbs. Growing them on from year to year is far more rewarding to me than composting them each January and buying them anew the following November or December. I'm especially happy to have a more expensive, rare variety or a particular favorite do well and bloom again for me the following year.

After the bloom has faded, the flower stalk can be cut off near the top of the bulb. Be careful of the leaves as you make the cut, and don't worry about the juicy sap that may run out of the cut stalk.

Treat your amaryllis as you would any houseplant, with regular water and fertilizer. Amaryllis plants like sun, the brighter the better, especially in winter. If you tuck it in a dim corner, it may survive, but more sun means better growth and better bloom next year.
When late spring temperatures are above 50F at night, you can move your amaryllis outside. Many people simply move pot and all into a sunny spot. That works as long as you remember that it likes to be watered regularly.

I find it's easier to take care of my amaryllis plants if I plant them out into the garden. They get plenty of sun in the bed by my deck. To simplify watering, I run a soaker hose between the bulbs. If you plant them in the ground, follow the same guidelines as for planting in pots, leaving the upper 1/3 of the bulb exposed above the soil line.

The more water, sun and food your amaryllis plants get during the spring and summer, the more leaves they will grow. The more leaves they grow, the more photosynthesis occurs to feed the bulb, and the larger the bulb will grow. The larger the bulb grows, the more flower stalks it will put up the next time it blooms. I've heard that for every 3 to 5 leaves an amaryllis plant grows, the bulb will put up one additional flower stalk the following year.
Amaryllis plants are tender and must be lifted in fall, before a hard freeze kills the bulb. How early you lift them depends on whether you are trying to time their bloom. For holiday flowers, you'll be digging bulbs in mid-August. I often pot up new bulbs in time for holiday blooms and enjoy my older amaryllises later in the winter, simply because I don't think of lifting them at the height of summer.

Here's a way to calculate the dates involved. Mark the approximate "bloom by" date you want on the calendar, remembering that you might have to be flexible. Count back the approximately eight weeks it will take for a potted bulb to start blooming, and mark the date you should pot up the bulb. Count back an additional eight weeks of dormant resting time, and mark a date to dig the bulb (or remove it from its pot).
When you dig up the bulb, brush or wash most of the dirt off the roots, and let them dry. Cut the foliage off about an inch above the top of the bulb. Put the bulb in a cool, dark place with good air circulation until it's time to pot it up. Often, the bulb will start sprouting the tip of a flower stalk to tell you it's ready to go.

If you're content to let your plant bloom when it will, there's no need to put the amaryllis bulb through an official dormant period. You can let the foliage remain on the bulb when you dig it up, or you can simply bring a potted plant back inside in fall. By doing so, you may encourage your amaryllis to bloom more than once each year!
Some of my older bulbs have produced offsets, which can be potted up separately or grown on with the mother bulb until they reach blooming size. I've also grown a few amaryllis plants from seed, an exercise in patience, as they can take 3 to 5 years to bloom for the first time. Over the years, my collection of amaryllises has gradually increased. This year, I dug 28 bulbs out of my "tropicals" bed by the deck!

I don't make any particular effort to put mine through a dormant period. I find that some of the leaves get damaged or lost, while the foliage on other plants stays healthy and full. So some of the amaryllis bulbs that I pot up end up going dormant to some extent, and others don't. Sometimes I pot them up right away, other times the bulbs may sit around for several weeks after I dig them up.
All the potted bulbs go on a sunny shelf in my basement. Every so often, a couple of them will start putting up bloom stalks, and I'll bring them upstairs to enjoy their flowers. With so many amaryllis bulbs doing their thing at different times, I know I'll have spectacular blooms to enjoy all winter long.

Author: Jill M. Nicolaus.

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Comments (25)

cindeea
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Put the stalk in a vase with water, take a deep breath, read up on amaryllis care on this forum and your bulb should live and bloom for many years if the bulb is properly tended to.
e36yellowm3
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sally, don't ya just hate it when that happens? Same thing happened to me yesterday... a gust of gravity and snap! - the whole scape broke right off. I did just what Cindee suggested and put it in a vase with some greens I had. Many folks do grow these for cut flowers (including our own Noni) so it'll be just fine. Treat it right and you'll get another bloom or perhaps several next year. Good luck! Alana
{{gwi:376549}}From 2010/2011 season
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I second amaryll's advice. Just let it keep growing, and it'll probably bloom more than once a year, especially if it gets plenty of light and fertilzer over the summer. (I have good luck with them in a greenhouse, where they get almost full sun; you did the right thing to keep yours outside in the summer to get maximum sun exposure during its main growing period.) If you need it to bloom at a specific time, you can force dormancy by withholding water, and when the leaves start to go yellow, cut them off and store it in cooler temps (I think I read 40-50F somewhere). You can pull the bulb out of the pot at this time if you don't have room in the fridge (don't cut off the roots!). After about a month of cooling, you can repot the bulb and start watering it, at which point it should go into a blooming cycle. Different types of amaryllis take different amounts of time to bloom after breaking dormancy, but 6-10 weeks is the range that I recall.
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I would buy some of that taller folding fence, put it around the bulb area. If they should send up or have any foliage left, fence will help protect it to feed the bulbs. As mentioned, give bulbs some fall fertilizer. I would probably get another pack of bulbs now or in fall, maybe in a contrasting color, add new bulbs to the patch. With additional bulbs, you will get SOME flowers. You will have something to enjoy, whether the old bulbs survive to flourish or not. I do the folding fence trick on my special plants, shrubs, newly planted with fresh DIRT!, when we have a new puppy. Seems like they bumble into your favorites, mush, chew, dig or walk on the growth you waited for so long! Ours always seem to have such BIG FEET! I blame myself then, should have protected my plants better, dog doesn't know the difference! Hope your bulbs come back, but put in some new ones to ensure some good flowers in the future. You might be able to stick some in now, to bloom later in summer!
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haxuan
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Actually, Sally, this is what I got from Cindee's and e36yellowm3's idea:

- put the broken stalk in a vase with water, just like you would with a flower, for display. The blooming stalk could last a few more days;

- plant the bulb in a pot with good potting mix and take care of it properly. The bulb might grow and re-bloom for many years to come. (I must further read as many notes on this forum as possible on how to plant & care for a bulb after blooming.)

Hope that helps you.

Xuan
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
OH...an extra hint on the extending the life of your "cut" amaryllis....turn the stem upside down and fill the hollow stem with water. THEN...put your finger over the end to trap the water inside the stem and lower it into the vase. If you give the vase/stem fresh water every 3-4 days, you can really extend the life of your blooms. I've taken blooms to ripe seed pods that way!
Good luck!
Kristi
cindeea
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WOW beautiful Floral Arrangement, Alana!
Great advice everyone...however...I wonder if SallyB423 even heard us....
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Alana, That must be your beautiful Cherry Nymph that broke...aren't the flowers huge and gorgeous! Made a wonderful arrangement! At least, that's what it looks like to me....

Donna
e36yellowm3
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks Cindee and Donna! Yes, that's one of the scapes on my Cherry Nymph. It was strange because I had it staked up and it suddenly started growing too aggressively / quickly toward the sun, and snapped right off at the stake ring. That sure is one heavy bloom, but it's gorgeous! And still lasting in the vase too. I needed a little red to perk up those Christmas tree bottom boughs anyway though.

Alana
sslaysey_hotmail_com
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have three amaryllis bulbs. I repotted them together. Let them in the dark after they dropped their blossoms last year. Watered infrequently.....bulbs have dried up so I peeled off the dead layers. What did I do wrong? I had a third of the bulb above the soil. Can I save them?
joshy46013
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sheri,

Did you let them grow leaves after the blooming was finished? Mine actively grow from Feb - Late Nov. Early Dec. At that point they cease to grow, some drop leaves and some don't.
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh Sheri, You've been a very bad girl..You always have to let an amaryllis grow leaves for months and months after the flowers fade..they need lots of light and lots of sun and sufficient water just enough so they don't rot...

I don't know without looking at them whether they are salvageable.. but give it a try..at this point you've got nothing to loose..Good Luck..

Donna
aacor11
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Kristi

How did you care for your cut scapes? I try my best right now with a scape I received from my husband and after 10 days it has reduced to half (20 cm) and the seed pod is only 1 cm wide.

Do I have to put it under lights? I added to the water 3% sugar and some chlorine to keep the water clean... though in half a day it becomes blurred. Should I change it right away when it blurrs?

silly questions I know... but

Thank you!
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Alexandra,

I wouldn't add anything....are you filling the scape with water and putting your finger over the end to prevent the bubble. Too much bleach and you're doomed! JUST USE PLAIN WATER and change it every 3 days.

Some scapes are just programmed to fail...and if it does, welcome to our club!!
K
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hello everyone,
I have a question about scapes that are done blooming: do I cut them at the base or do I leave everything as is and let them wither naturally? Does leaving them in any way emaciate the bulb? Why I'm asking is I stumbled across a comment somewhere that not removing the scapes lets the nutrients(?) in the scape be somehow used and recycled by the bulb so they don't go wasted. I did remove the seedpods, though, so I have now 2 huge flowerless/seedless scapes sticking out of the bulb, they are still perfectly fresh as I removed the old flowers/pods just a couple of days ago. The bulb is actively sprouting new leaves.
Thank you.
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Parodise,

Personally, I think it is a matter of choice. If you've got an established bulb (one with roots) then I don't see any harm in cutting the stem if it's a matter of aesthetics.
On the other hand if you have a new bulb with little or no rooting it might be wise to let the stem whither naturally, as they say, so say that any nutrients present in the stem will transfer back to the bulb itself. Personally I don't think it makes that much difference but it certainly does make the bulb look better for the few weeks it may take for the stem to whither. There are different opinions on this. Most often I just cut the stem after the seedpods (if any) have ripened. or sometimes I cut the stem in half so it doesn't look so obvious that a dead stem has been left on. The choice is yours!

Donna
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Donna, thanks a lot for your help! This bulb I'm talking about is one I purchased recently and it's sitting in coconut coir, basically all under the surface in a small pot. My gut tells me it's not really a big bulb and it has just seen 2 huge scapes ( 4 flowers on each) through blooming. I have to go easy on watering and fertilizing as the medium tends to retain water for too long and I'm not sure what the root situation is like. So, judging by what I guessed and what you said, the stash of nutrients in the stems might come in handy... I guess I'll just leave them on for the time being.
BTW, below is the flower of that bulb. Does anyone have any idea what the hybrid name might be? It's really rather deep dark red. Bought it at a local florist's, not a supermarket, and the tag had a really dark, "Carmen"-like flower in the picture...
Thanks again!
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
H. Benfica?
Mine looked darker in real life, but reds are hard to capture.
K {{gwi:376551}}
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think you might be right. I googled it and this gardenweb's pic is the exact same flower as mine, even the notch on the petal is same as what my second scape's flowers had, the darker stripe pattern is also identical!!!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/amaryllishippeastrum/msg0323405213964.html

Yours is a gorgeous color - certainly much darker than mine, but very close to what I saw in my plant's tag!
Do you have any idea if growing conditions, i.e. light/soil/fertilizer/temperature can affect the color of the blooms?
Thank you so much!
Lena
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lena,

Your flower is very beautiful! But!! I would repot this bulb immediately. The bulb should not be covered in wet coir of all things..it will rot! And I'll bet it's in a plastic pot too?? You can mix the coir with perlite and sand or some other potting soil that will drain and dry out. Only bury the bulb an inch or so in the soil. Coir stays much too wet and the bulb should be more or less sitting on top of the soil at the very least and you must have a drainage hole. You don't want to loose your beautiful bulb to rot...

Donna
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Donna,
I thought exactly the same... But I'm afraid to touch the bulb while the second scape is finishing blooming... I realize I'm walking on eggshells here and am extra careful not to overwater - choose only spells with a few sunny and warm days in a row for watering. You are right - the pot is plastic and small and I have the scapes leaning against the window - otherwise the plant would topple... I did remove the upper layer of coir to open the bulb a bit. So far so good... As soon as the last flowers wither I will repot it.

Lena
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lena, yes, light and temperature conditions do impact the color of a bloom. This particular bulb bloomed here in Texas in early April, which tends to be cool but not cold with good springtime light.
K
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Kaboehm,
you give me hope for the next year! I will need to give my bulb the best conditions possible and help it reestablish its natural biological cycle so it gets much more sun when it blooms and, hopefully, turns out darker next time around. Might take another year, though, before I see any new blooms...

Lena
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lena,
Sometimes you get better blooms after the first blooming cycle. The bulb will have settled in and give you it's best. A few years ago we had a pretty cold winter. My bulbs spend the winter in a greenhouse, where the temperature never (hopefully) gets below 45F. That next spring, the colors were very vivid...absolutely spectacular. Many of us felt that the colder winter may have played a role.
K
parodise
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Kaboehm,
do you think a particular ratio of NPK in the fertilizer can affect the intensity of the bloom colors?
Lena
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lena,
Maybe, but I've never experimented. I'd guess optimal fertilizer + optimal growing conditions = optimal color.
K

Amaryllis blossoms broke off - now what?

anna_in_quebec

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