I don't know if it'll slow down in time for Christmas-- it would have to wait another 25 days for Christmas day. I planted a white peacock nearly a month ago and it is pretty much where yours is now-- and it has been slow to grow in a 60 degree or less basement window (it gets a lot of sun). So in short, no, I don't think it'll make it to Christmas at prime. The second scape, however, will probably be at prime.

I'm no expert, but I think it's a bit late to retard growth at this stage... the only possible way to get a few more days out of it would be less light and cooler temperatures, but I think it's going to bloom very shortly no matter what you do... enjoy it, and your friend can enjoy the next scape right around Christmas...

What variety is it??

It is Basuto.

I called Scheepers and Brent and Becky's too for advice, but they were both closed.

As a backup plan, I had purchased another 2 of them. Not sure if they are for me or for her as a surprise. I planned to stagger the planting to increase odds of Christmas bloom. The 2nd one I am trying one in stones and water, which I had never done before and always wanted to try. The 3rd one I meant to plant last weekend but didn't get to it. Will do it this weekend for sure and I bet it will still not be too late.

I don't usually exchange Christmas presents with this person, but if the first Basuta fails, that would be a really nice surprise if I had one waiting in the wings.

I would put it in the 40F place. Growers often do this when they want to plan the blooming time of the amaryllis. This cold temperature slow down the growth to almost nothing. Of course, if you don't trust the process, you sould not try. I would, if I were you. Then I would take it out to a warmer place about a week before Christmas, so it could open up by the time I want to give it... Though, I prefer to give pot, soil, and bulb as a gift. People tend to like to plant the bulb themselves and watch it develop... I had an employee once I bought a kit for... She called me to check her bulbs every day. She even used a marker on one side of the scape to track the growth... It made one side funny looking, but, boy, was she enjoying the whole process!

Well, seeing as I have some backups I guess I can try that.

I keep the door to the bulkhead (40F place) open a few inches to the basement (60F) to regulate the temperature a bit. I can put the retarding pot right on the floor near that door opening. It will not be quite as cold as 40F right in that spot.

I definitely agree that the planting & opening process is half the fun! Especially with the early types. Its pretty fast!

But this person was not interested in trying an amarylis unless I grew it first to pre-bloom readiness. Hence the "foster parent" title :-) She does tend to neglect houseplants. Does well with cactus and other pot-and-forget types. I'm hoping she can handle turning it periodically if needed. :-)

Hehe... You can tell her that she can give the whole thing back to you once it flowered. Then you will give her another flowering one next Christmas and so on... At least, this way, she will not kill the bulb.

Many years ago, when I bought my first bulb, I planted it and very nearly forgot about it... I put it in the very back corner of a bay window and let it do it's thing... it bloomed beautifully. I say that I nearly forgot about it because I only watered it as an after thought when I noticed that a few other plants in the same window needed water...

Since these bulbs prefer to dry out between waterings, they almost thrive on neglect... almost... they do require some care, but not as much as you would expect... I grew my first bulb as I would any other houseplant, never putting it through dormancy, and it has faithfully bloomed almost every year, right around February...

Of course, now that I have a collection of Hippeastrums, and breed them, I tend to hover over them to make sure every bulb has exactly what it needs... I actually think that if I neglected them just a tiny bit, they would do better!!

Basuto is one I don't have, but the catalog pictures are lovely... nice choice, Wendy! Good luck with your Christmas flower adventure!

Thought I would give you and update on stalling growth.

So, I put it in the coolest part of the basement at about 50 degrees in mostly dark for a couple of days. THen I decided to put a box over it for the rest of the week to be completely dark and keep the temp consistent too. At the end of the week it looked almost the same. The bud was fuller but not open.

Then I delivered it (Dec 8) and told her to put it in bright but not direct light, . Yesterday she sent me a picture of it and told me one flower is ready to deadhead:

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I told her to try to push the 2nd bud along by putting it in the sunnier spot.

I am disappointed that it was not a great specimen for her first amaryllis (half) attempt. Only two flowers on the first stalk and the dwarfed 2nd stalk is not so great.

Given how it started out, I don't think the week under the box affected that. Although it may have affected the height of the "taller" stalk. I would think that the number of flowers was determined already. I don't think it was destined to be that great from the start.

But it was interesting to try that stalling attempt. I might try it again with some of my late bloomers.

If given the proper care after it finishes blooming, you may be surprised by better blooms, and more of them, next year! I think it is definitely worth a shot!

Since I really don't care if my flowers bloom for Christmas, I don't try stalling or do the dormancy thing... I just give them the best care I can, and treat them as houseplants... and they constantly reward me with wonderful flowers... my oldest bulb blooms every February without fail, and each year, it gives more and more flowers!

Good luck with your Basuto!

I am sure that this Basuto was not well rooted. Just watch how it will perform for you when it has a lot of roots and will be well fed throughout the year. Short scapes and weak flowers happen with newly purchased bubls.