Well, I can't be of much help... my only Lemon Lime put out leaves and no flowers! It is a bulb that I got either last year or the year before, as I recall it was a bonus or freebie and it was quite small... so, my guess is that it had previously bloomed and/or was the "runt" in a box of bulbs. -Tina

Lemon Lime is the most amazing hippi I have. Nothing seems to bother it, it reproduces like a rabbit and the offsets seem to flower quickly. I have given many away and yet I not only have a garden of flowers from it in the Spring, but it seems one is in bloom throughout the year. People I have given bulbs to have told me that they get at least two flowerings a year from bulbs. What is also nice about Lemon Lime is that it is fairly compact - medium size bulb and leaves. I love the variation in the color. It opens yellow but, it seems to me, the more sun the more the pink shows through in a few days.
Anyway, this is a strong cultivar, so don't worry, leaves will come and I will be very surprised if it doesn't prosper and give you lots of beautiful flowers.
-J

jstropic, thanks for your words of encouragement, and especially thanks for that gorgeous photo!

So when the second stalk finishes flowering, I should cut it off above the bulb, and then - wait for leaves? Would it jog it into action to repot? (It's in a pot barely larger than itself, I would like to put it into a larger one.)

Jacque,

If it is done flowering, I would take it out of the pot and look at the roots. If you have good roots, then feel free to pot it up. If you don't have good roots (or no roots) then clean up the basal plate and take off any dead roots and keep it in the smaller pot until you get roots. Usually leaves are a good sign of a growing root system. When I repot, I use a bagged potting mix then add sand and pine fines which works well in my climate - sand helps drainage and gives weight to the pot.
Also, I don't cut the scape after it has flowered, I let it dry up then take it off - but that is just my preference.
-J

OK, I'll do that. One more question - should I find no roots on the basal plate, would it help to try some rooting hormone when I repot it?

Jacque,

I don't know if rooting hormone would help - I have never used it on the hippis. The most important thing for me when there are no roots is to keep them fairly dry which seems to trigger rooting (if the temperature is high enough). If the temps are still low, keeping it dry will help prevent rot.
-J

Thank you for showing!
I recognize it -
this is or mimics the CORRECT VERSION OF
"Lemon Lime"
just saying

OK, still no leaves on my Lemon Lime. I repotted it into a slightly larger pot, and set it so that it is nearly half above the soil line (originally the soil line was just below the neck).

The bulb was firm like an onion, no mushy spots. Several large white roots. The basal plate looked OK to me, but I definitely don't have any experience with hippeastrum diagnostics.

In the picture below, the lens cap is 2" diameter. I'll post a second picture showing the basal plate.

And here's the second photo showing the basal plate.

looks ok to me, i had one that needed a year before putting out a single leaf, and after 2 months it got another 2 leafs.

I agree with Snarfie, it looks like you have the beginning of a strong root system. I would take off the dried brown layers and any old roots then repot. Keep us posted on its progress.
-J

Yup, I agree with the above posters, your bulb is just fine. Nice roots and good advice to remove all those loose layers of dead skin. Some of these bulbs can drive you mad waiting for them to send up a leaf when all they're doing is concentrating of their roots.

Donna

H. Lemon Lime from Fall 2006 batch of bulbs with it's "horn and dimple".

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll keep the faith!

A leaf! A leaf! I have a leaf!

Now, not to discourage it with solicitousness.

Yay Jacque!!!!

Congratulations and good growing!

-J