Tammy, if your bulb was left over from Christmas, it has most likely already bloomed for this cycle, and it won't bloom again until next spring, or until you force it around Christmas time... whichever you prefer. I would get it out of the water immediately! If I understand correctly, you say the bulb, itself, is sitting in water? If this is the case, I hope you can salvage it. When bulbs are forced in vases, they usually only have the roots submerged in water... never the bulb! Hippeastrum bulbs are prone to rot and fungal issues, so it's very important that proper watering take place. If the bulb is still healthy, I would pot it up into an unglazed clay pot that was about 2 inches bigger around than the bulb. I would use a very sharp draining, gritty medium. I use a very bonsai-like mix, myself. It's almost like orchid bark mixed with perlite and granite chips, but the pieces are much smaller... about 1/8 of inch size particles. You can use regular potting soil, but be very careful about watering... adult bulbs like to dry out a bit in between waterings, and they hate their roots to remain wet for any long length of time. Always check for moisture around the root ball before watering. Stick you finger as far down into the soil as you can, and if you feel any moisture at all, wait. If your bulb has been inside all this time, I would take the newly potted bulb outside to a sheltered, shaded area, and slowly introduce it to sun so the leaves don't burn. These bulbs can be grown a few different ways... I grow mine as houseplants... I allow them to flower naturally in spring, and once the flowers fade, I begin feeding it regularly. Sometime in winter it will lose its leaves and rest, at which time I hold back on watering, only giving it enough to survive. Once new growth starts in spring, I resume normal watering, and it blooms. You can also plant them out in the gardens, though they're not hardy in Vermont, and you'd need to dig it in the fall before the weather got cold. To force a dormancy for Christmas time blooms, you'd want to give it as much sunshine and good care from now until the end of summer, feeding it well. About the second week in August, you'd stop watering and bring the potted bulb indoors, placing it in a cool, dark basement to rest. Do not water it for about 8-10 weeks... then, bring it back into a warm, bright place in your home, water it once, and wait for new growth. Flower scapes should begin growing, and at this time, you can resume watering normally. The bulb should bloom within 6-8 weeks. I've included a link, below, outlining the how-to of getting your bulb to re-bloom for you. Good luck! And if we can help you further, we'd be more than happy to! :-) Here is a link that might be useful: How To Make Your Amaryllis Bloom Again

Jenn- I can relate. I'm in the middle of a huge re-do as well. I live in upper Rockridge in Oakland, and am having the yard re-terraced for improved access. In my case, they've been working for two months and I think they're only half done. I let them decide when they think they can safely work on the hillside. Where they have compacted the soil in places I want to plant I will have them amend it. In my case, they are building me lots of paths and steps, so I figure all they are doing is compacting the places that need compacting. I'm trying to plant the areas they've completed-at least get some of the deciduous trees in place. I went out there yesterday afternoon, right after the rain stopped, and my soil was dripping wet a foot down. BUT-since my soil has years of Clodbreaker worked in and lots of mulch faithfully applied, it didn't compact when I dug it. At one point when they dug into my hillside to widen a terrace, I was amazed to see that I had beautiful dirt 2 feet down. I've been mulching the soil for 12 years w/ American Soil's 1/4 inch fir bark, and when the back yard was originally terraced, I had them add in lots of Clodbreaker. That soil was a thing of beauty, unlike the nasty sticky stuff that was uncovered when they pulled out a hillside of ceanothus in untouched soil. So.. you can improve clay soil if you keep at it.

Your bin is almost without air holes in the sides, which may be why the pile was too wet and lacked air (as evidenced by anaerobic odor). It does look good as a top dressing/mulch. Sawdust is a very strong brown and will not cause heating, quite the contrary. It would be difficult to get that much mass of almost-completed compost to heat up - you'd have to mix in at least an equal mass of fresh material, and then you're in for another long wait for it to finish. You could try this: take it out of that bin where it can get some air, loosely cover the top with a piece of plastic (don't seal it to the ground, just keep the rain off). In a month or two come back and dig around in there and see what you have. It really looks almost done and in need of drying and aerobic curing.

Thanks,,Kate. Making Rainbows has nice big blooms to be a short plant, and they stand up nicely. Jellyroll Morton reminds me of Clown Parade in being very photogenic. The cats are just nosy. Today I was picking blueberries and Spatter couldn't not help herself. she kept watching the entire time (and I picked five quarts) and had to keep checking to see what I was putting in the bowl. they follow all over the garden when I take photos or pick blooms or weed or put out mulch. At least two and maybe three or four of them will be there. They are now playing with my botanical labels. kay