I just simply cut off all the leaves when I want them to go to sleep and put them in the fridge. Simple.

Looking back through the posts in this forum, dormancy seems to be the most misunderstood part of growing hippeastrums. There are questions from people everywhere regarding how and when to put their bulbs to sleep in order to have new flowers for Christmas.

Personally, I don't make my bulbs go to sleep, or go dormant, in the fall... I allow my bulbs to keep their own schedule, which consists of green growth most of the year, a loss of some leaves and slowed growth in winter, and new blooms in early spring... I cut back on water in winter when the growth slows, but don't allow them to dry out completely... basically, I treat them as houseplants, allowing them to keep their own schedule of growth and bloom. I don't necessarily need flowers for Christmas...

Others, however, prefer to time their bulbs' blooms for the Holidays... this consists of forcing them to rest, and there are a few different ways to do this... I think the most common way is to place your potted bulbs in a cool, dark basement or frost-free garage and withhold water, allowing the green growth to die back... some people will tip the pots on their sides, as a reminder not to water. Then, they trim off the dead growth and bring the pots back into a warm sunny room approximately 6-8 weeks before blooms are desired.

I checked back through some older posts, and came upon a good piece of information posted by Lora in Indiana, who is a veteran grower, I understand, with lots of experience and knowledge... and she says bulbs require 6-8 weeks of dormancy or chill, followed by another 6-8 weeks of growth time for blooms. So, if you want those flowers for Christmas, bulbs need to begin their rest about 16 weeks before Christmas.

Optimally, storage for dormancy should be 55 degrees F, which helps set buds inside the bulb for the next flowering. This tidbit of information comes from an older post by Hans in Germany, another very experienced grower. So, while some refrigerate their bulbs, I think a cool, dark basement or garage would be the perfect place to put those pots of bulbs to sleep.

Keep in mind that continued forcing of these bulbs can put a strain on them, to some extent... it would be prudent to skip a year in between, and have other bulbs at the ready to take the place of those that are resting... in other words, have more than one bulb, and alternate which bulbs you would force for the Holidays.

I hope this post clears up a bit of misunderstanding when it comes to the dormancy of hippeastrums. I hope I haven't missed any important pieces of information... if anyone has anything to add, please feel free... I'm just a novice grower, and help is always appreciated! :-)

Thanks for all the input Jodi, didn't mean to make so much work for you. My apologies, but it's really appreciated. Guess I partly do most of what you stated (by accident). I grow them hard during the summer, then shove them back under the deck in the greenhouse in the fall where it is cool and darker. A lot of time the greenhouse is lucky to be 55! I'd like to just keep on growing them as you do, but need the room. Sticking them in the fridge sounds like a really good idea Soultan, if there weren't somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 bulbs (many are small though). Quick and easy is my cup of tea with all there is to do. I'm an obsessed gardener in way over my head with both the amaryllis and orchids, the African violets, the bougainvillea, and all the other stuff.

Kitty, I got more than 300 bulbs, and I went to the Contractors' Warehouse and bought two "damaged" standing refridgerators that had the freezer part separated on the top. The two standing fridges are about a person height, the one that you usually build in the kitchens. I should correct myself though: One of the same kind came with the house that we just bought a year and some ago, so I actually only had to buy one fridge... Since it had some surface scratches or slightly dented side panel, the fridge was less than $200. When I have my bulbs out in the garden, the cleaned out fridges can store food items, drinks, water bottles, and the two freezer parts, of course, hold the kind of stuff you put in freezers... But when I start buying the bulbs in September, one of the fridges is cleaned out of EVERYTHING, and bulbs start to fill it up. I keep it a steady 47F, and never put anything else in the same space with them.

Then now, that I just lifted the bulbs that were out in the garden, fattening up, I clean out the other fridge from everything, and these bulbs will go to sleep there.

First, I lift them, then I hint them with some Captan as soon as I can figure out where to get some. So far nobody's got any in the stores I went to, then after about a week of drying out in the garage, in they go to the fridge, same conditions as the new bulbs. Then in 6 weeks, on February 24th, I will take out my first bulb and plant it in a pot, so I can enjoy its flower inside. Then when they stopped flowering and giving me the seed pods, I will just stick them out in the bed again for another season of California Summer outside... Sunscreen and topless girls are provided, so they are happy like a puppy... So that's all. And the two fridges fit comfortably on the two sides of the entry to the house in the garage... It is a blessing to have an empty fridge in California during summer. You can stuff it full of liquid, then you are never without water and refreshments. It is actually very helpful when you are in the middle of construction. Water is like a commodity in the heat. I just wonder what I will do if I buy the same amount of new bulbs next year as I did every year so far... Would I have to go and buy another fridge? It is actually funny...

Soultan... you are so funny!

I'm collecting so many bulbs that I may soon have to think about putting at least some through a dormant period... unless I want to break the bank buying grow lights and using electricity to power them all!

All I have at the moment is a little dorm fridge, and I doubt that will hold many bulbs... due to the fact that it has a tiny freezer compartment, the only area that stays at a high of 45 degrees is the very bottom area. I was only able to fit one large pot of hyacinths in there this year for forcing.

I recently took them out as they had been in for about 12 weeks, and had begun to sprout! I can't wait to see them bloom... this is my very first attempt at forcing any bulb! They should be very pretty and smell really nice, if all goes well!

Soultan, Those are great instructions. And, you're right, very simple. I'll try to modify, and incorporate them into, my current scheme. Sure do wish I had room for another fridge, though. Hmmmmmm, something to think about. After you lift them from outside, do you wash all the soil off them? And, I'm assuming it's not "mean" to just cut them off? Sure would simplify my life as things get hectic in the fall bringing all the other stuff inside for the winter. Thanks so much!
Jodi - I ran into that sale a few weeks back on bulbs where I had purchased almost 900 bulbs for $25, so a number of them went into pots that I can bring in early to enjoy before the regular outside bulbs bloom. I just brought the paperwhites in out of the snow . . . They're starting to break the soil. Can almost smell that fragrance already. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

I decided not to wash them. The bulbs are clear because their outer layers are cleaned away, and the dry dirt will fall off the roots, so I don't see it necessary to wash them, They are pretty clean... Some anti-fungal powder is very important though.
And I just cut the leaves off. It might be mean, but the same happens to them before they come on the market.

Soultan, you also have a unique way of packaging them before refrigerating them, too, don't you? I remember reading about that some time ago... you mentioned packing them so they do not touch any part of the side walls of the fridge, thus eliminating any possibility of accidentally touching a very cold spot and rotting or getting mushy...

I do wish I had a separate unit to store bulbs... but I keep apples and other fruit in my kitchen refrigerator, which is bad for bulbs! I should keep a lookout for a garage sale fridge, or one that someone is replacing...

I put them in individual mesh bags, then put them in cardboard boxes that have holes cut in their sides for air circulation. I mostly use the John Scheepers boxes. I have a lot of them sonce I bought everything from them. :o)

I saved those John Scheeper boxes, too... they are very sturdy, and I know I'll find a use for them... ColorBlends sends bulbs in very nice mesh bags, and I've saved those, as well, for future packing... I suppose onion mesh bags would work, too...

I'm glad I saved it all... I'll most likely have so many bulbs by next year that I'll have to put some to sleep!

But...but.....I have carnivorous plants (VFTs and Sarrs) in the bottom of my fridge! Now I have to put the Amaryllis in there too??? As Charlie Brown says....ARG! Where will I put the food?!

They don't necessarily need to be refrigerated to be put to sleep... I don't have room, either... so, I'll probably either have to get another fridge at some point, or put them in the basement where it's cool and dark...