Carol, Hadeco, a really large bulb supplier advises against it, I will supply a link below. Many people do things very differently but this is the view I look at it from, manure feeds the bad bacterias that causes bulbs to rot, why subject your bulb to that? Another big issue is you have no idea what amount of nutrients you're feeding your bulbs? Manure, unless investigated is uns This probably has a lot to do with the burning of the leaves of Barbaras Hippeastrum, manure cannot be controlled the way forumlated varieties can. I learned this from a biochemist friend of mine as well as Len Doran that cultivated most of the Hippeastrum species and Fred Meyers who both produced many of the beautiful hybrids we have now! I'm really thankful that these notes were passed down to me. I've learned a lot from these Amaryllid experts. While I think manure has its purpose it's unpredictable (hence the leaf burning barbara experienced) and feeds bad bacterias that can cause many diseases in bulb species including rot which can cause bulb death. Here is a link that might be useful: Hadeco

In grocery stores, and Wal-Mart, and the like, you can get named varieties that are actually not the given variety. Most of the time Red Lion they sell looks like Orange Souvereign to me. They usually just pick reddish colored flowers and sell the bulb following year as Red Lion or just as Orange or Red. The bulb you bought in the speciality store though more likely to come from a reputable breeder, who cares about growing actual Red Lion, when it wants to grow Red Lion. This year, I bought two packages of Red Lion from Lowes (it turned out to be some thin petalled orange flower) and Home Depot (it turned out to be Amigo-like), and none of them were Red Lion... Fortunately I gave them as present and my employee was extremely happy to have them no matter what mutt they were... They were beautiful. Especially the Amigo-like that grew three flower scapes. I bet for instance, that all the customers of MzBulbs who bought Aphrodite think that the flower is actually Aphrodite... It is similar, but not the same. I have the third Aphrodite flowering for me and they all turned out to be Nypmhs... Even a Pink Nypmh turned out as just the original Nymph. So I am getting a lot of money back... I am waiting for White Nymph to flower in the coming days... I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be original Nymph either... I have a bunch of Nymphs now. :o) And I don't even like that variety that much. Hope their Lima will indeed be Lima. Their Ruby Meyer was Ruby Meyer and their Carina was Carina with deep wine colored flower stalks, and it put on such a show with three flower stalks flowering at the same time with more than 15 flowers that I am still in love with this bulb... even though there is only one flower on it that is still not whilted and pollinated... Oh. And it seems like that all the flowers took the pollen, whichever variety it came from... I don't keep track, but it was Top Choice, Ruby Meyer, Snow White, and Limona. I am excited already if these seeds all germinate, how they turn out initially... I will make them flower and then force them for the following year and give away in charity for Christmas for seriously ill people... (I thik I am trying to justify all the work I am planning to put in growing amaryllis on my hillside.) I hope, I will have enough seeds germinate and survive for blooming size. I will always keep my named varieties, and always give away the mutts that I create after their first flowering year... Wish I didn't move that much. :o)

I think the ratio is closer to 4 leaves for one scape. Exposing the plant to mild stress will prompt it to flower, but only if it has had a minimum (6-8 months) of green growth. Stressing a plant right after flowering wont make it flower. It is correct that flower scapes are created one season ahead. Stressing the plant does not start the formation of flower scapes but it can program a plant to flower (flower scape already developed). I think the proper way to explain the "programming" process is not to keep saying "stressed" but to say "interupt the existing growing pattern". E.g. impatiens (annual plants in our area) will flower if grown in moderate light with moderate water and frequent light fertilizer applications. Unfortunately, sometimes the plants do not flower. It is not always cut in stone. There are so many different parameters/conditions which can affect flowering (sun, water, temperatures, stress, maturity of plants, etc) that our hard and fast rules sometimes need revision. Therefore, I have always found that doing something different works. If you have fertilized regularily, try skipping a few applications. If you have fertilized sporadically, try fertilizing regularily. If you have watered consistently, try to let the plants dry out a bit, or give them more water if they have been kept very dry. If grown in pot, move to a sunnier (or darker) place. Just introducing some kind of interuption in the growing pattern will often result in flowering. This being said, the timing and conditions must be right. E.g. impatiens will not bloom earlier than 3-4 months from seed and only when soil temperatures are 65F or higher. Too much sun or too much shade and they will not flower. Here, too much stress (too strong fertilizer, too weak fertilizer, too much sun, too little sun) can prevent flowering. So when we say "stressing" or "doing something different" it should still be within the acceptable ranges of the particular plant species. E.g. don't stress a tropical plant with cold temperatures, or an impatiens flower with full desert sun, for example.

yes Alana I think the look of your planters with the other annuals looks great-- will remember that for when I get a garden again. Alana I thought of unpotting and storing my bulbs in our outside closet (it is kept from freezing during the winter by a heater). But I think my less-than-ideal lighting situation having faced North for a season now leads me to think that if I do store my bulbs in the closet it will be in their pots, kept just moist enough not to kill the roots. This will be all an experiment and I have no idea if it'll work or not. In fact I bought a min/max thermometer for just this reason-- I need to keep an eye on both of the extremes so I don't bake or freeze any plants. The downside of having so many summer blooms like I have now is that I feel I need to keep those who bloomed growing longer past the season so that they regain their strength. With the except of the aussie bulbs, I think the others haven't shrunk or anything-- so perhaps they'll be ok. But its the Aussie bulbs that will likely need to keep growing-- though I'm fairly certain they all have roots now, blooming without the leaves too is hard on these bulbs. Russian Halo is getting soft-- but there are little leaves peaking out. Ryan