If the bulbs look firm, smooth and healthy then I would not necessaily throw them out. Particularly not the specimens of H.papilio. Those, should, in the meantime, have produced several offsets (haven't they?!) I guess that your bulbs had been sitting in smaller containers. Thus the little volume of substrate had been worn-out after two seasons and you should have replanted them. Next, I read that you tried fertilizer and I am tempted to ask back "What does this term mean?" - or, frankly, fertilizer has not to be tried, it has to be applied frequently in lower doses - this has maximum effect. Now, replant into bigger containers as usual. Put a thiock layer of drainage material on the biottom of the container. More than 1 inch. Use moist coco fiber substrate or high quality pot soil (which does not contain any unsufficiently decomposed matters like wood- and bark pieces) Pluck and wash all loose (dead) material (old scales and dried roots away from your bulbs. Take care tpo keep the upper part of the bulb dry - no water into the "heart" of the plant Replant cautiously - do not bend the roots. Water well once from above (but again, keep te heart of the plant dry). Place them at your best (bright) windowsill. A body of the central heating under the windowsill is advantageous since growth of roots is supported in warm substrate (up to 26°C). Let the substrate become almost dry again. From then on water exclusively from below into the saucer. Use lukewarm water to which you have added, yes, always 0.3 to 0.4 g/L of a well balanced NPK fetilizer. For example 1 to 1.5 mL of a 6-3-6 liquid fertilizer. Water every 2nd day. The volumes of water the plant needs vary considerably dependent on the weather and on the total area of evaporating leaves. Use a good volume of water which is still readily absorbed by the substrate layer. The uppermost inch of substrate should become and remain completly DRY. If dark spots appear on the surface then the lower substrate volume has already become too wet. Encourage your bulbs to produce lots of leaves not just 4 or so. Numeros leaves will build upo a good, thick bulb stuffed with storage products, and then you will get flowers the next year. How can you expect flowers from an exhausted bulb?

I wrote a lot of things here when all of the sudden the site froze and I lost everything. Now I don't have the desire to repeat all again. I will just do a short cut. Maria, I just talked to you about that the only variety that I still don't have from Royal Colors is Lovely Garden that is not worth ordering alone anymore because the shipping would be more than the bulb itself (themselves, so I am waiting for next year's offering. There might be 10 new I can get, includning this. Dizzy77, You are lucky. It seems like that the hippies from Maguires Hippeastrum Farm are all own hybrids. I most likely will not be able to get them here. I checked out their web site and they have names completely unknown in other parts of the world... They must create their own hybrids... I will research if I can order from them and have them send package to California... It might be fun. Now I have to save the pictures all these new varieties in my vault...

Yes, grizz, they can indeed tolerate full sun, but can also tolerate a bit of shade in hot, hot summers. They need to be put in about the time you would put in any bulb, while dormant and before it gets to cold; so that they can get established. They tend to do best outside in zones 9 and 10 generally speaking, so I would think that in zone 7 you might want to be sure to have them in full sun. I am in zone 9 technically (in most ratings) but zone 15 according to Sunset Magazine. There are people who have them here outside with no problems. We do not get much rainfall at certain times, either. You could always try one or two to see how they perform and whether they are happy in your garden. If not, you have not lost much; and if so, you could put in as many as you wish!

floridabear~ I have two papilios and both are only a third covered in the soil. They are doing fine. One bulb (that I had trouble starting last year) has just shown the tip of a scape and the larger one has a the bud fully exposed. Both bloomed last year. My experience with papilio last summer seems to indicate that the do not care for our hot and humid summers in 7b and since you are much warmer there, they may be trying to rest in the summer and that might be affecting them. I have heard from others that their papilios have gone completely dormant in summer, losing all the foliage. Mine rested in summer and that didn't concern me as most Hippis I have grown will rest for short periods anyway, between leaves or after putting out a few of them, and then resume growth. It might help if you could sink the pot in soil or somehow keep the roots cooler, though the air temps on the foliage and bulb will still be high. I am thinking I might leave one indoors next spring to see how it does. They may like the cooler temps and the part-sun exposure they'll be getting. In your latitude, I would think bright shade all day would be the way to go, avoiding anything but a peep of direct morning sun if that. I plant to let mine get some direct light in spring, but plan to reduce that to bright or dappled shade for summer till early fall. I have read that they bloom better pot-bound. This is often said of all Hippeastrums, but isn't necessarily true. There are posts here that indicate otherwise, and I always pot up when the pot is full of roots. But that isn't to say that it does in fact help papilio to bloom. I just don't know for sure. My bulbs are now ready to go up a pot size or two and I will pot them up. The 8" pot will dry much too quickly next summer and I wouldn't want that to affect the growth their rate or to have it push them toward dormancy when they could be growing. Having two good-sized bulbs in an 8" pot, as you have them, might be over-doing it. At a certain point the do need more root room and will be hindered in their growth. Too much of a (possibly) good thing. V. Read recommends withholding water for 6-8 weeks in summer during their rest in mid-to late summer. This is also advisable in the winter when despite having foliage, they are taking a rest again. Also, don't feed until they are growing new foliage. Hold back on watering if they are taking their winter rest. Hope some of all that helps..... Robert.