That is perfectly normal. What I do with my amaryllis is just cut at the top behind the spent flowers. Then let the stem dry out.......Once its yellowed and dry, I cut closer to where it meets the bulb.

Sierra

YePp - nothing to worry of.
The juice in the stem (and in the leaves as well) is standing (or better moving) under a certain pressure (root pressure)
The stem has a particularly high transverse section (as compared to single leaves) which is then opened by cutting and releasing a lot of juice from both sides when the pressure breaks (locally) down.

On the other hand I find this very unpleasant. I never cut these fresh stems. I break off the single withered blooms by bending the stalket (pedicle) upwards.

The scape withers and dries up within some weeks - then I cut it away.

Hans-Werner

Thank you, Sierra and Hans. Glad to know it's normal behavior. I was afraid I'd commited a big sin!

GH

I do the same as Hans. I have read somewhere that the stems contain a lot of juices and minerals and plant food that oozes back to the bulb eventually, so I let it on the bulb and let it dry back naturally.

I'd really like to find out if that is true... if the bulb takes in the moisture and what it contains from the dying stems and leaves... because I also know that most other plants benefit from the removal of spent flowers and dying parts so they don't have to expend the energy to do so themselves, thus allowing their energy to go to new flower and leaf production...

Anyone know if, scientifically, there's truth to the idea that a bulb takes back what the stem and leaves contain as they die back??

When growing Daffodils and tulips we are told never to cut the leaves off until they dry up naturally, or eventually we will starve the bulb. EVen the next year they will not be a slikely to produce a big flower. I think they put a lot of energy into growing the leaves and stems and that by reabsorbing it, they keep the minerals and other goodies to themselves and do not have to go on to the next step in the survival of the species. FOr Tulips this would be the mother bulb dividing into way too many babies that are too tiny, and will take years to bloom again. Daffodils are more likely to just get smaller and weaker,and eventually die out if the condition repeats every year, so I do not see why an amaryllis would react differently form them.

We leave the greenery on bulbs so they can recharge, this we all know... but once a hippeastrum has flowered, it no longer requires the flower stem... my question is... should the stems be left to dry up naturally because fluids go back to the bulb? The stem plays no part in recharging the bulb, as far as I am aware... it is the following growth of leaves that gather nutrients for the bulb that need to be left alone... the same is true for any bulb... it needs the green leaves to photosynthesize nutrients for next flowering... it's really the stem I'm asking about, because a hippi usually doesn't have too many leaves at blooming...

Good question.
I do not know, but I would not exclude that the green stem be contributing to an essential, if not major part in the beginning, when the first leaves are starting to poke out.

Removing the stalk immediately after the flowers have wilted - I see no important reason for that measure. Or, do the scapes bother you that much?

And, even if I shall not sow anything - I let the seed pods develop though, and I enjoy their progress, because I know that the seed formation is a slow process (mimimum 6 weeks) and, thus, the time related demand of material and energy is so little and it does not to exercise a perceivable (eakening/detrimental) impact on the bulb.

Many years ago, I decided to make a cut flower arrangement, and I noticed that the fluid flowed from the stems. I had heard on TV or read somewhere that you should fill the tube back with water and stuff it with cotton, then place in the vase of water. I have no clue if this really helped, but I did as suggested.

LOL! I seriously doubt that the water stayed in the tube. It sounded like a good idea, though, and I tend to try all the tips that I can find. Sometimes, that is disasterous, but often it is either helpful or simply does no harm.

Anyway, I have always left the scapes to wither on their own time. I also do not know whether the fluid is retained in the scape for a reason, but I decided to leave them be...

Sometimes, I cut the spent bloom off the seed pod, and sometimes I don't. I guess it just depends on my mood and how much time I have to spare.

Bottom line is, I think it is up to you!

I cut the spent scape if there is no seed pod developing on it and there is another scape to bloom. Otherwise, the scapes stay on the bulb till they wither completely. Even after the seed pods have opened. I believe that the green scape is photosynthetizing just as other green parts of plants, so it is good for the bulb, and when it withers away it must let the moisture and minerals flow back to the bulb thus building back the weakened bulb material (scales).

Oh, no, Sir Hans... the stems don't bother me at all... it was just a question, as I keep reading here that moisture flows back to the bulb from stems and leaves as they die back, and I was just curious if it was true, or not... typically, I leave everything on a plant until it is completely dead and shriveled, and in need of removal so as not to become a hiding place for insects or a breeding ground for bacteria...

As a breeder of performance working canines, aesthetics are the last things I think about! What a dog, or flower, looks like is just a paint job... it's what's under the hood that matters the most! The beauty of a flower may be the first reason we want it, but we also want the plant to be genetically sound and healthy so it performs well.