Potted Amaryllis from Christmas still has green leaves

12 years ago

Last Christmastime, my mom gave me a potted, blooming Amaryllis. She also bought one for herself, so she was shocked when I recently told her the leaves on mine are still green and show no signs of turning yellow, while she lost the leaves on hers early this year. The bulb is still in the original plastic 6" pot and I give it water only when the soil is dry.

I'm new to Amaryllis and wondering what to do with it now. I'd like to plant it in the garden. Do I need to wait until the leaves turn yellow and can be removed?

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Comments (5)

haweha
12 years ago
"Nicht wirklich"
"Actually: Not"

Greetings from Germany, and show your Mom, the following picture. Them Knight Star Lilies should be in full leaves now, in order to restore their bulbs. It is called Photosynthesis.
Provide your bulb with the best care, consistently. Then you will have nice, big, firm bulbs in autumn.

{{gwi:415763}}

From Left to right:
"UnderTheLadder"
"dark red heirloom" (small pot at the window)
"PapMinPic" (on blue frisbee disc saucer)
"Exotic Star"
"PapDon2"
4 seedlings of "Chico" x H.papilio (squared pot and "saucer" respectively
"MELUSINE" (the genuine)
"PapDon1"
Eucharis x amazonica
H.papilio x "Exotic Star" (balcony box)
haweha
12 years ago
1)Temperature range (during summer = same temperatures for AIR and Substrate) 20 TO 25 degree CELSIUS

2)Bright window. I consider SOUTH facing position, as perfect. Note that at WEST position, particularly on HIGH FLOORS, the afternoon sun, shining unrelently horizontally onto the leaves might BURN them. This does not as much apply for the common TET Hybrids with big flowers, but H.papilio can become substantially damaged in just one afternoon. Furthermore, the containers, particularly dark colored pots, can severly heat up at west windows, that this can be prevented by wrapping with Aluminium foil though.

3)Water: Exclusively lukewarm and exclusively from the bottom, into the SouCoupe. Every other day, with quantities that are readily being absorbed within some minutes.

4)Fertilizer. Perfect regimen is to administer fertilzer salts or liquid fertilizer with each watering. 0.3 g / L of added salts on every occasion is SAFE. I have excellent results using a brand that provides the relations of macronutrients of 2 : 1 : 2. Veronica READ ("Hippeastrum - The Gardeners' Amaryllis") suggests 1.4 : 1 : 2.7 and this should work very well too. American brands generally provide too much Phosphorus. For example 1 : 1 : 1 in brands of solid fertilzer, like 20;20:20
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Bulbs of the common big blooming cultivars contain at least one preformed bud and do principally NOT need any fertilizing up to the time point when the flower scape has reached full size and the blooms open. This is the reason for the ubiquitary amaryllogene advice - discovered on almost every plastic label accompanied with potted knight star lilies which tells "fertilizer usually not necessary" This is fully correct in the case that the plant will be delivered to the waste bucket afterwards - which is very common and btw fully intended by the bulb traders *lol* However, regular fertilization is absolutely necessary in order to re-establish the bulb which is so exhausted after having generated such a huge plant mass in scapes and leaves. The importance of a carefull husbandry for the plant at the windowsill to make it REbloom is generally underestimated (my opinion) With certainty it is not sufficient that the plant be keeping its leaves but for some weeks after it has bloomed - and then these leaves, while regarded as undecorative, often underdeveloped or even collapsed due to irregeular watering are cut away... The leaves should instead remain living for a timespan in the magnitude of 1/2 year and more, during which even fresh new leaves will be produced. BTW this will fill up the leaf bush and considerably enhance the performance of your knight star lily! This aim can only be achieved by regular waterings and fertilizing and nursing the plant at a windowsill which is not TOOO dark... It is wise to support the leaves, which usually tend to become very long indoors to protect them from collapsing and becoming useless for the plant. Use adhesive films for that purpose. Now, back to the start question: There are several reason why blooms remained absent in the first season, Casey. The bulb might have been stored far too long prior to forcement, and the buds have already shriveled up meanwhile, or the scape was damaged by bulb scale mites, which are seemingly an inevitable adjunct to every hippeastrum bulb (my personal experience). OR, and this happens very often, you watered to amply at the very beginning of the forcement. The compost should be watered vwery sparingly at this stage.
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jenn
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you -- yours are beautiful. I know about photosynthesis and keeping the green leaves for next season's growth.

But -- don't the leaves eventually turn yellow, at which time I need to cut them off? I thought they'd be yellow by now, but since this is my first time growing these, I am not familiar with their growth pattern.
radarcontactlost
12 years ago
Others might chime in more about this, but Hippeastrum hybrids do not need to go dormant. You can force dormancy to encourage blooming but I have kept many growing straight on through the winter no problem. In fact papilio, which is a species, is harmed by dormancy and is truly evergreen. Hope that helps
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
12 years ago
I too have grown bulbs right through the winter..I have so many pots that last year I never got around to forcing dormancy on all of them (withholding water and letting the leaves turn yellow) and I grew about 10 plants with their leaves through winter..they bloomed erratically at their own timetable..usually putting up one flower spike and several months later putting up another. The bulbs will let you know if they need a rest..and certainly NOT during the summer months.. Definitely continue to feed and water and give lots of sun during the summer months and you will build the bulbs resources up for more spectacular blooms in winter. You can always withhold water in the early fall (Sept) and after 3or4 weeks the leaves will turn brown..then you have forced dormancy..and a cool period at that time of 2 months or so (after the leaves have died off) and they are ready to be watered (and re-potted if needed) to give you more flowers...

Also, during the summer you may notice that several of the outer leaves turn yellow..but they will continue to sprout new leaves from the center of the leaf clump..this is normal.. to shed older leaves and grow new ones..the plant needs to do this and just because you see outer leaves turning yellow, this does not mean that the bulb ready for a rest..keep feeding and lots of sun..

The only time all the leaves may turn yellow during the summer is if you have a NBF maggot eating your bulb..and then you have a problem..that is a whole different problem..you can look that up, there is lots of information in this forum about all of your questions..just type questions in the search box and you will learn more than you ever believed..experience is a great teacher....

Good Luck,

And Sir Hans..I keep trying to pick a few of those pots from your picture and its not working....I wonder why...

Donna

Potted Amaryllis from Christmas still has green leaves

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haweha

haweha

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jenn
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radarcontactlost

dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts

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Potted Amaryllis from Christmas still has green leaves

Comments (5)

haweha

haweha

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jennOriginal Author

radarcontactlost

dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts

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jenn
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