Bloom Booster for Amaryllis Aftercare? Also a question of color.

17 years ago

I have an Amaryllis "Red Lion" that has bloomed and is now in the "store energy for next year" phase of her growth. I'm feeding her w/a 1/2-strength solution of Peter's 24-8-16 (it's what I use for all my foliage houseplants) but I wonder if it would do any good to feed her w/a bloom-booster now. Would it lead to more blooms next year?

Also, I've grown "Red Lion" in years past from bulbs I've bought from grocery stores and Wal-Mart and the like. This year I got a bulb from a specialty nursery and the color of the blooms was *much* deeper and richer than I've ever noticed it before. The bulb itself was much larger than previous ones, so I wonder if the deeper color was due to the age of the plant or if it's a product of higher-quality plants.

Thank you and good nite. ;o)

Sort by:Oldest

Comment (1)

soultan
17 years ago
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)
Related Discussions
Using a bloom booster for orchids...
Q
Comments (8)
It looks to me like an Oncidium intergeneric hybrid (like Beallara, for one). Or just straight out Oncidium. These definitely like more light than Phals. Mine respiked in a south window, right up against the windowsill, with a white mesh curtain in the window. However, the buds blasted (probably my fault - underwatering). I'll give it one more year in that spot to see if it will bloom again. If it doesn't, or is lackluster, it will start spending summers outside. Point being, it grows well enough in my south facing window, but while it did spike, it left something to be desired. I'm hoping it was my fault, but I'm suspecting it wants more light, as the spike was very small, with only three buds, compared to the 12 or so flowers it had when I got it the year before. Did you cut off the wrinkled leaves on this one? I don't really think you need to, unless they'd gone brown and dried out. Wrinkled or not, it still uses those leaves for energy, as long as they're still green. I have wrinkled leaves too. They just look, well... somewhat embarrassing, banners in the wind proclaiming, look, I've been underwatered! But they're still growing and useful. My focus isn't Oncidium types, but this is my experience with the few I have. Two are in south windows, one is in a very bright west window. Your Phal will probably enjoy the east window, but I suspect it won't be enough for the Oncidium type.
...See More
Can I reuse an Amaryllis after it blooms?
Q
Comments (27)
Nopets, Many if not all amaryllis will grow like houseplants if given the chance. Some will lose all but one leaf but that single leaf will remain green and, some will retain most all of their leaves and grow slowly through the winter months. In the case of amaryllis bulbs growing like evergreens, the bulb will bloom when it feels like it which is most likely not when you would want it to but it will bloom. If you had asked earlier before you pulled it from the pot and cut the leaves someone might have suggested that you just bring it in when the weather got cold and let it continue to grow. It most likely would not have bloomed for the holidays but you could always buy another bulb for Christmas and your Red Lion will surprise you with flowers when you least expect it, maybe next Spring or even Summer... Also, if you've got your bulb in a large enough pot and it appears by the amount of roots you have that yours was, you can leave the bulb in the pot for several years. Three years is a good average but I'm ashamed to admit that I have some bulbs that have been in the same pot for 4 or 5 years with offsets and most often they still manage to bloom. Sorry if I overloaded you with advice... Donna
...See More
amaryllis newbie question
Q
Comments (13)
It is interesting, that there was no amaryllis in the Wal Mart close to us... Now I have moved, and there is no Wal Mart in here. :o) I will have to drive far, back to the area where I moved from to get new bulbs for myself in the fall. That area has the best Garden Centers. They start selling the bulbs on October 10th. So I know what will happen on October 10th this year... I will go and buy up everything new I can find... Then go and drive around every Sunday for new places to find... Good that I am OCD, so I can regulate myself to do it one day a week, and only buy varieties I don't have yet. I would have liked to see how the Wal Mart bulbs looked like and maybe buy. If for nothing else, but for gift to give away to others.
...See More
Bloom Booster vs All Purpose Plant Food
Q
Comments (16)
Marilyn, trying to research online the effects of phosphorus on seeds made my head bizzy and I didn't get very far. My personal theory, based on mostly what I know of corn, grass and soybean production and the like would be that large doses of Phosphorus would increase blossoms at the expense of decreased seed. I don't think it would stop seed production, just set it back. My other personal theory is that some fertilizer being helpful doesn't mean three times as much is necessarily better than just enough. Right now while it's so dry here, I'm thinking how easy it would be to completely burn up every annual in the garden with a big dose of Nitrogen without adequate water. Nell Oh yeah, for increased seed production (more beans?), you'd use a fertilizer with more Potassium, like 5-10-15 -- or a careful dose of wood ashes. Fertilizer 'speriments would make a good science project, wouldn't they?
...See More

Bloom Booster for Amaryllis Aftercare? Also a question of color.

Comment (1)

soultan

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US