In zone 8, Daffodils will do best in the ground and fall is the time to plant them. I wouldn't plant them in a pot with Amaryllis because Amaryllis do not have the same chill hour requirements.

Depending on where you are in zone 8, some Amaryllis (hippeastrum) will be hardy for you in the ground. However, in a pot is another story. Again, it depends on where you are. You see, in the ground, they get more warmth than in a pot unless your porch is protected and more warm.

Crinums are best grown in the ground, expecially the ones that produce huge bulbs and multiply readily. Many are planted very deeply.

In any event, unless you have a very large and deep pot, I would not plant them all together.

What varieties of Crinum and Amaryllis do you have?

Coming from someone that grows all his Hipeastrum and Crinum in pots I guess my only concern would be that I water my Crinum far more often than my Hippis in general. I have some Crinum that bloom from bulbs less than 2" in diameter and many that bloom from bulbs 3-4" diameter so I do not think this is a concern. Maybe you could try a nice C. amoenum that is from India and blooms reliably every summer from bulbs that are huge at 4" diameter and is also cheap and easy to find with some Hippeastrum. Also, the C. amoenum does not have huge leaves so they will not hide the Hippi. There are many other rarer species from South Africa and Madagascar that are also small bulbs, but these will cost more and are likely not what you want to experiment with. Heck, give it a try and let us know how it works out :o) Dan

OK you guys, I guess I should have been a bit more clear --

i live in an area of california that gets hot dry summers (typically 95 or more) and winters that get cold (typically a dusting of snow that lasts the month of feb.) My porch is protected and the pots are very large -- big ole terra cotta ones I bought at Costco :-)

i don't have either the amaryllis or crinum yet -- didn't want to waste the funds on either if it was pointless to plant them together. i really don't care if the daffs don't last past this season -- i really wanted to plant a pot with sequential blooms.

Thanx all for your input. still pondering the point . . .

j.

What I would do is gather as much cultural information on each type of bulb you want to plant, and let the information you find be your guide.

Crinum and Hippeastrum are both tender bulbs, and can't take freezing temperatures. Both of these bulb types can grow leaves that are quite long and wide, and both have rather large root systems, so potting them together might not be the best idea.

You could put each bulb type into its own pot, and surround it with annuals for summer color... just a thought.

There are other bulbs that have early, mid-season, and late blooming varieties, and could be potted together for sequential blooming, such as Tulips, Daffodils, etc...

My suggestion is to learn as much as you can about the bulb types that interest you, and go from there... you may find something entirely different that grows just as you'd like it to!

I'm sure there are species of amaryllis that can be grown outdoors in zone 8. The problem could arise though, when the bulbs force themselves out of the ground. At least mine do. They swell up and become large over time and eventually bulge out of the ground. You could maybe experiment with one of those cheap Amaryllis bulbs you get at Wal Mart and such stores during the holiday season. Here's a couple of mine that survived our Jan 07 freeze (temps in the low 20s for a week).

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here you can see the pushing themselves out of the ground "phenomenon" described above. This might be a problem because then the bulb becomes exposed to the elements (snow/cold...)

central_cali369, your amaryllis are gorgeous! i think i will try a cheapie bulb to see how it grows. thanx to you and jodik for the encouragement.

Honestly, if the porch does not go below freezing I just do not see the issue, if it does then you may have a problem. Look, I grow many species of Crinum (I have only a couple of hybrids that were given to me as freebies) in pots and they spend the winter in the garage where it routinely will get into the 30s but it does not freeze. I store my Musa basjoo bananas in there as well so they can go back outside in the spring....and many other bulbs. The Crinum can take these temps...they often do in their native habitat in South Africa where mine come from. If your porch does not go below freezing then go for it :o) Dan

Last year, my Johnsonii in the gardens had beautiful scapes. The buds were about to open. A late frost/freeze was in the forecast. I used tomatoe cages, covered with frost blanket and tied the blanket down.

The blooms were fine, and I was able to hybridize them (pollinate).

Frost blanket will give you 4-8 degrees of protection depending on the kind. It lets rain and sunshine in,but keeps the cold out. I have used it year after year, and when it gets dirty or muddy, I wash it on the gentle cycle in my washer, then dry it with no heat.

For many subtropicals in the garden that I wish to not go dormant, I will simply cover for the day with an old comforter or blanket and pin it down with a brick. Then I remove it in a day or two because we rarely get frost/freezes for more than two days in a row. The ground never freezes and it rarely (once every 10 years or so) snows.

This gives them a head start for the next spring. Otherwise, they would die back to the ground and take forever to bloom again.

So, I agree with Dan, and I add that it is very helpful to throw a blanket over them, pin the blanket down so that the wind does not blow it off IF you have a freeze forecasted.

Enjoy!

Ann

Hello. I have some outdoors, and these have been growing since the eighties at least! My neighbors grandmother planted them then and I received some of these beauties this past spring. Oh yeah, and I live in so cal.
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I've been growing Hippeastrum outdoors for 6 or 7 years now. They do best with the base of the bulb planted about 5" deep in sandy loam. They are planted among other perennials and receive several inches of shredded leaves as a winter mulch. The bulbs haven't frozen and only rarely do voles destroy them. Bulb fly has not been a problem.
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I'm crazy jealous of people getting to grow them outside. I wish Kansas were in zone 8 or something. Zone 5 is all sorts of "no fun."

We all want what we can't have! Southern gardeners want all the beautiful perennials that we northerners take for granted, like Iris and Lilacs, Tulips in spring... and us northern gardeners want all the tropical plants that are too tender to survive our frigid winters!

The good news is, at least for northern gardeners, that we can grow most tropical plants in containers, as long as we bring them in for the colder months. I'd give anything to have a huge sun room or solarium so I could grow some of the larger palms and gorgeous flowering shrubs!

I am happy to be able to grow all these potted tender bulbs, plus the few other tropical plants I have. And with a little extra refrigerator space, some of our northern plants can be given the cold dormancy they require, and can be enjoyed by southern gardeners.

Luckily, Mother Nature's ways can be emulated to a certain extent, and we can all enjoy some of the wonders of other climates! I, too, would give anything to plant my Hippeastrum bulbs out in the gardens... and be able to leave them there all year!

gypsy sparrow and steve_nj, wonderful pictures -- thank you!

steve, you hit the nail on the head by saying that voles don't usually bother them. I have a terrible time with voles in my area. the only two bulbs i know they won't eat are naked ladies and daffodils. so i'm excited to add amaryllis to this list.

one last question to those of you growing amaryllis outdoors (and in your perennial beds). do you water the amaryllis as often as everything else in your garden? my beds are planted with drought tolerant plants (penstemon, rosemary, etc.) so for the first few seasons, i'll need to water a little more heavily.

Many thanx to everyone for your input.

I'm in zone 8b and they have done very well so far here outside. I put a bunch out after xmas last year. They bloomed again around April, summered over just fine and are spreading.

I see all these lovely photos of Hippeastrum bulbs growing among other garden perennials, and I'm so jealous! They would turn to mush in the rock hard, frozen ground of winter here!

I could plant some out in the beds once the danger of frost was past in early spring, and they'd be happy until the chill of autumn, when I'd have to dig them up and store them.

You guys are so lucky!

I water the amaryllis as much as the other plants. Mine is planted by irises and agapanthas. I also just recently planted some daffodils, close by, never planted them before!
Here's another, this ones planted in a pot, I'm still thinking of a special place for this one.
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Nice color! I hope you find the perfect spot for it!

jza44,

I too, water the same as other plantings. I also have them in well drained areas with other drought tolerant plants (aloe marlothii, agave desmettiana, kalanchoe, sedums, allysum, crassula, aeoniums, echeverias...and other drought tolerant plantings). They are watered four times a week for bout two minutes each time. This is only between the months of May and October. Between November and April, our sprinkler system is off and everything survives without the additional water. Here is a picture of the surrounding succulents planted where the Amaryllis are. The picture was taken after a bit of rain, normally it is a vry dry area. The Amaryllis bulbs are just visible in the background.

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Gosh everybody -- you've been so generous with your help. Thank you so much :-)

joyce

We're always happy to help a fellow plant/bulb lover! Gardening is for sharing! :-)

Hi I live in Tempe AZ which has great winters but I am consered with the 110+ summers. I have a shadded area and would like to plant the 6 bulbs that I saved from the garbage outside. Do you think they will make it and what could I do to help them.

Ah, Tempe. Sigh. Very nice. I was there a couple years ago for the K-State game. Go State!

Hello, Cyndela... I'm not really certain how they'd do in your heat, but people here are from all over, including Florida, California, Texas, the Carolinas... and they all grow Hippeastrum bulbs outdoors. I think perhaps a bit of shade would be ok, but not too much. As long as you don't get freezing temperatures and the bulbs receive good drainage, they should be ok.

Anyone in a hot climate available for comment?

Yesterday I harvested amaryllis bulbs from a relatives house she is selling and don't know if I should store them till spring for outdoor planting or plant now. Which way will give me the most success and how would I go about storing them if the answer is spring? There's a lot of them (a hundred or so) and I had no notice so have not prepared ground for them.

See the response in the separate thread started for this question.
K