Kristi, I had every intention of chilling my bulbs, as evidenced by my post about my mini refrigerator! But, my bulbs also, and at first count it was 8 and on a second inspection 14 of my 26 bulbs have buds poking out! Some of them way out and a few of them have 2 buds emerging!! I could swear that in the last couple of days a few more have poked through!! So, having potted up most of my bulbs with emerging buds, I think I am going to wait at least 2 weeks and see if any more start to grow before I even think about chilling them!! I have to find some more medium sized pots!!

I did read that many of last year's bulbs (for some people) took a very long nap before growing, but obviously this year's batch is different!! I'm wondering if the sauna bath in customs and then the hot trip to each of our homes had anything to do with it??

I am pleased with the bulbs, they look healthy and are very firm....even the tiny ones! Some of them are very good sized also. They are resting in a room that is in the low 70's, hardly a chill but we'll see. I will definitely wait 2 weeks, I have a feeling that more will sprout! The potted ones are out on a deck under a deck in the shade and I'm checking them every day!! I too am interested in other's opinions, as to what they are doing with their bulbs!!

Donna

I am doing the same as I did last year, since I was very pleased with the results then. I simply potted them up and set them outside. We are having days that start with fog and 60 degree temps, then clear around noon and temp reaches all the way to the mid 70's. The poor dears probably think it is still winter!

Just had a marvelous rebloom from last years "Emerald Star".
I am happy to see buds coming on some of the new ones. Can't wait to see them, just like a birthday present I want to open it NOW.

Well, it was 104 here on Friday and high 90s over the weekend, so they will have to stay inside. At present they are resting in the living room, and cuddled together in a couple of shoeboxes. I did cut a couple of necks down towards the shoulders a bit as they looked prime for "pinching" scapes and leaves. Other than that, they were in great shape.

I am hoping a few will delay for my Garden Club talk on Oct 14.

BIG THANKS TO RYAN H...and even a special added touch...pot tags/sticks prelabeled for us! THANKS RYAN!
Kristi

I never chill anything. It ain't gonna get no chillin' after it's planted so why bother? I did go out and buy pots for these. Tonight I'm going to get some stuff to plant them up. Mine sat at the po, then in the back of my brothers truck (at least he picked them up LOL!) and are now sitting at the bottom of the staircase. The bulbs are all healthy, several have scapes showing. I can't wait for blooms! And to see what my surprise bulb turns out to be.

Thanks again to Ryan for all his hard work. He's the bomb!
Tally HO!

Yea for Ryan!

Because amaryllis like the drainage of our native sandy FL soil I use this with 2" leaves for bottom drainage in 8" deep pots planting the bottom 1/4 of the bulb. Almost all my bulbs arrived with no roots & none had live roots,but the bulbs look great. Since they must grow new roots and leaves and flowers from stored bulb sugars, I use wires to hold the bulbs in place until they anchor their own roots. I have watered with dilute epsom salts and will now alternate water with dilute chamomille tea each week unless it rained that week. Then I will only use the chamomille tea(for mild natural fungicide and growth stimulation. I did peel the brown jacket (outer layers) in one pot of 8 bulbs for comparison. I was pleased not to find any of the gray fungus (looks like dust) under the brown jacket as is found in some European grown and stored and prechilled bulbs.
E. W. W.

Warren,
Thanks for the information about using chamomile tea, I assume you have used it in the past with positive results?? Is your application of Epsom salts just a first time watering and why in your opinion, is chamomile tea a growth stimulant? And, I also gather from your post that you will water them once a week, (rain or tea) even without roots, I have wondered how often one should water bulbs with no roots. And, I also gather that you don't chill your bulbs, I still haven't decided whether or not I will chill them. I potted up 15 that had started to grow, left the rest in their bags in the box on the living room floor. I checked them about twice a week, and low and behold another one has started to poke out a bud..... Tangellino!!
I have pealed the outer layers on all of them and only found slight traces of mold on a couple which I tended to immediately and they are just fine. They are all in remarkably good condition, nice and firm with no rot on any of mine. I'm very pleased. I think I bought too many, but had to play catch-up since I wasn't around for last year's order.
My Amy Maguiure is about to bloom......2 scapes, 3 flowers on the first one, and another person from this order told me her Amy Maguire is about to bloom also. Did you buy one? I will have to check to see who else has one. I hope you will share pictures of your flowers as they bloom, with us! And, any other tidbits of information you might be willing to share will be appreciated by all of us....I'm sure!!

Thanks,

Donna

OK Chill temps lower than 45F slow growth ; lower than 35F growth stops; lowqer than 31F you get damage depending on how long and how low and humidity and soil moisture. It may only be the parrot red scary surface cells that froze and gethat brilliant red because oxygen gets through the cell walls of the epithelium that froze. The red is a reaction to air combining with a chemical in the sap. Dr. Alan Meerow discovered this. He is tops in hippeastrum , Director of the germplasm research station in Miami for the USDA.
Because you need new roots your bulbs first thing and hipps don't produce new roots until after they bloom (usually) if they are in the bloom stage: plant them now.
Since they need to grow roots and leaves and maybe flowers right now, I am giving them epsom salts. The wild sand and compost has all the fertilizer they need for first year or 2 with the depth of soil, 8", I have in my rectangular and round pots.
Chamomille is a mild fungicide. Tea is a growth stimulator. In a test against plain well water hippeastrum seeds from the same pod were 25% larger with tea water than plain water from sprouting to 6 months. Chamomille tea brewed from a tea bag of chamomille flowers kills the group of fungi called damp off or wilt that attacks seeds when the stored energy runs out after furnishing the food to produce the first root(s), & leaf(s) and contains compounds that protect from wilt until it runs out like the in mother's milk. That is why you get up one day and your sprouts are eaten off at the soil line. I have used the following mixture on tomato seeds rain lily seeds etc. with excellent to 100% survival and recommended it to members of the International Bulb Society among others.
2 single serving bags of chamomille (flowers)tea and one tea bag any regular tea. Brew a pot of tea (I use a Mr. Coffee type). When it cools, pour it into 2 washed (including bottle cap and threads) 2 liter plastic bottles anf fill them with water. Mist it on top of planted seeds, bottom irrigate seed trays, and yes you can use it to float seeds. Print a copy of this formula.
How did you tend to the mold traces on your bulbs? Since light and air kills it, I usually just peel & plant, maybe wipe it off with my thumb.
I will make a separate post on timing hybrid bloom.
Bill Warren
E. Wm. Warren amstgrp@yahoo.com
Amaryllis Study Group

Bill, Thank you for the information regarding tea as a growth stimulator, I for one, did not know this! This is very interesting as my husband, from time to time, grows Rhododendron crosses from seed and we have a terrible time with their damping off. I also plan to grow some Kalmia from seeds this fall (a first try) so we will try this method on both of these endeavours as well as the hippies!! I think there will be a run on chamomile tea at the super markets!!

As far as the mold, I just used water and a soft old toothbrush (careful not to get water down inside the bulb, as I have done before) and let the 2 bulbs dry in the air-conditioned air for a few days and then lightly brushed with Captan and then dusted the basal plate with rooting hormone and planted! I actually can't remember which 2 bulbs had the mold, ( doesn't say much for my record keeping or memory).!

As for the tea, how long would you use it to water your seedlings and would you use it exclusively (no tap water) along with dilute fertilizer? I am fertilizing my seedling a couple times a week, they seem to love it, just Miracle Grow! Thanks for the info,

Oh, one more thing, I was searching on Yahoo and I came upon your article on over-wintering hippies in the ground in all zones (6b) and I am going to try that this year, as I have several duplicates and Box Store varieties that are growing splendidly and I promised my husband I'd find homes for some of them to make room for this latest order. It was kind of a lame promise, I didn't really mean it so, I think we will try this method up against a granite foundation on the South side of the house. Would pine bark mulch suffice instead of leaves and pine needles? Also would covering them with white plastic instead of black be better since it may not heat up as much from the sun, (when there is no snow)and the wall radiates some heat as half of my dahlias made it through the winter last year, the ones planted directly against the wall, the plants in the front row, only about 3 feet from the wall froze. The dahlias were covered with only a couple inches of mulch, I'd plan to use at least 6" as you recommended. Thanks again,

Donna

That's very interesting reading about the chamomile, Bill, thank you. I have read about the epsom salts before, more for seeds or for a magnesium boost. Does the chamomile 'concentrate' store at all, or should it be made fresh for every application?