Your bulb in the garden in California may not go into a dormant period, depending where you are in California. Nornally it will bloom in May in the garden. Here in Sunset zone 15 they always go dormant when the weather cools. They are planted with 25% of the bulb above the soil in an area shaded from the west. Drip irrigation keeps them growing all summer. I remove the daughter bulbs and plant them separately. I do not fertilize the planting bed but do keep it fertile by additions of compost spring and fall. Red Lion is probably the most common of the Amaryllis sold for Christmas time blooming. Mine are several different cultivars received as Christmas gifts. Al

What you don't want to do is pot the plant where the level of the media is too high to the crown of the plant. The crown of the plant must remain above the potting media, whichever potting media you choose. (If growing in moss, I would grow in a clay pot, by the way. For bark, I prefer the plastic pot.) Never allow water to collect in the crown of the plant: you'll get crown rot. Up the humidity for the plant if the plant has few roots. Don't overpot the plant either. If there are few roots on the plant, then keep to somewhat small diameter pot.

Hi Judy, From Lyndon Lyon's, or LLG, I get consistently large plants, often in bloom, in 2 1/2 in square pots in a good potting mix that does not have to be changed for at least six months. They come with plastic stakes that have the plant name printed on them so I can move them when I repot. The plants grow rapidly and do not sucker. The company has excellent customer service and ships promptly. For me, it is worth it to pay slightly more to get consistently larger, premium quality plants. For all the trouble of ordering live plant material across country, I want to get the best I can for my money. They have good quality control and accurately label the plants. They are my first choice. I only go elsewhere if there is something I want that they don't carry. They also keep their web catalogue updated, so if they are out of stock, they won't list the item. So, no surprises and no substitutions. They usually have enough of a particular type to choose from. For example, they will offer five different reds or five different whites or more. Their own hybrids are exceptional, vigorous and strong. I primarily raise Lyon 's own hybrids. They also have a wide selection of many other hybridizers. They are a large enough company to be able to introduce new hybridizers. They first opened up the Russian market and offer a wide range. They seem to pick the best choices of other hybridizers, so if they offer a plant , I feel it has been preselected for good performance. If something is new in the plant world, chances are they developed it. They are consistent in what they offer, it is usually possible to find the same plant year after year, plus new ones. I like to be a loyal customer and give them my business. They have been at this for sixty years, I appreciate they are still in this business. I feel they are excellent, so why not do business with them? When I place an order with them, I already know what to expect, so I can safely order a dozen. But they will accept an order of any size. When I want to try out a new grower, I place a small order. Usually, about four. Joanne This post was edited by fortyseven on Tue, Aug 12, 14 at 10:56

African Violets have flowers when they're trying to reproduce. That takes a lot of energy and plant resources, so it doesn't happen all of the time. African Violets may have periods of blooming which last 4-8 weeks or so, ... then the flowers die down ... and the plant is ready to make seeds. If you remove the faded flower stems before the plant makes seeds, ... the plant will rest and recoup its resources for awhile, ... and then will begin to try to reproduce again, starting with a period of blooming. If a plant is healthy, it may go through this cycle a few times a year, meaning that you will get flowers for extended periods a few times a year, ... separated by similar periods ... when it's resting and rejuvenating to bloom again. I just pulled the last faded blooms from one of my AV's yesterday. It will be without blooms for awhile (probably a couple months), ... then will bloom again. That is why I have more than one AV (to say the least). That way some plants can be in bloom ... while the others are resting. Right now, ... about half of my AV's ... are in some stage of bloom while the others are resting from blooming. In two months, the situation will reverse ...