Dear Uncle Arif, AOA, I tried this almost 4 times before having my own Amaryllis bulbs in my new house. I have done this with my friend who is a Doctor in Karachi, Pakistan. And in my point of view it worked very well. Amaryllis is one of the easiest Bulb to grow, you can mold it's life style according to your needs :) The only problem I face, which bugs me is potting soil/ medium I'm not fully satisfied with my potting soils. I use same potting soil for all kind of bulbs but few kinds never bloom that nicely that they should be. So I'm still working on potting soil. About temperature I can maintain temperature very easily but i think now I have a small seperate fridge for them :) otherwise my family gonna eat my Amaryllis bulb this season other than apples :) I have also posted one topic "Amaryllis Growing Commerically" and i think it's worth reading. One of my uncle trying to make a Green house for growing Amaryllis Commerially, in this regard he is planning to purchase 3000 bulbs through me. Uncle this season I'm importing 44 Bulbs of Amaryllis of 10 new Varieties which I didn't have. I have ordered already. All in all I'm importing 14 Bulbs of Girraffe, 14 Bulbs of Celica (one of my favourite). 10 Bulbs Papillio Butterfly, San Remo, Charisma, Dancing Queen, Apple Blossom, Benifica, Red Peacock, Lady Jane. The size of these bulbs would be 34+ Cm , except Papillio Butterfly which would be 24Cm+ I'm looking for more varieties of double flowering including ; SNOW WHITE, ALFRESCO, AMALFI, BALLERINA, BELLISIMO, BLUSHING BRIDE, CANDY FLOSS, CARNIVAL, CUPIDO, FIRST LOVE, FLUFFY RUFFLES, JUNGLE BELLS, MILADY, MY FAVOURITE, ROZETTA, Razzmatazz, THAI THAI and ZOMBIE. I will purchase all these varities in time. Let's see when time permits :) Rest everything is fine. I will let you know when I will get new bulbs of this season. I'm waiting for them anxiously. Once again the only thing which bugs me is POTTING SOIL/MEDIUM for Amaryllis! With Best Wishes & Profound Regards, Ammar!

After its initial flowering for you, it will require care to recharge its energy and set new buds to bloom again. It's a good idea to get it out of what passes for soil that the bulb came with, and get it into a decent pot with good drainage and fresh, good quality, porous soil. It will require plenty of sunshine, some fertilizer, and careful watering. Hippeastrum bulbs, commonly called Amaryllis, hate 'wet feet', and like to dry out in between waterings. I'm including a link to a great page with everything you need to know to make your bulb bloom every year. There's a ton and a half of great information right here in this forum, so do a little reading to familiarize yourself with your wonderful bulb! Good luck, and welcome to the forum! :-) Here is a link that might be useful: How To Make Your Amaryllis Bloom Again

Let me clarify if I may. The phyto is obtained by the sender only, not the receiver and the cost is determined by the govt where the sender lives. It costs around $50 in Aus. and anywhere from $10-30 in most other countries. As the receiver you only need an import permit and in the U.S. this is totally free and the form takes as much as 5 minutes to fill out if you are having a cup of coffee while you do it. You only need to list a couple of species/hybrids and once you get it you can import thousands of bulbs of any species that is not CITES protected even though you never put it on your list in the first place. By the way, you only need to list one country on your original import permit and then you can import from any country you want as well. I have been doing this for many years now and have talked with the people at our APHIS/USDA office numerous times to get these points clarified in person. Trust me when I say this is totally trivial...totallY!! The only problem you will have is sometimes the bulbs are not packed as well as they should be or are packed the slightest bit damp and then you have some that arrive with fungus or rot. If you are importing bulbs that are tougher than Amaryllis you can simply expect some loss....everyone has this problem that I have ever talked to about importing that does it in significant quantities. All the best if you decide to do it :o) Dan

Lovely plant! Be sure you don't keep your blinds closed as in the picture. Your 'Amigo' will be a happy amigo with sun to help restore its bulb. With good care your amaryllis may actually have a larger bulb by next fall, especially if summered outdoors in a sheltered spot from late spring to late fall. Expect next year's blooms to arrive in mid or late spring, unless you decide to force it again. I'm inclined to suggest that you don't force it again unless you've been successful in forcing, and that your bulb has put on a lot of girth. I had great success with Olaf, a beautiful large red. I planted it out in a sheltered location in my zone 7b/8a garden where it grew at least 20-22 leaves. If it returns in the spring, I'd expect five or six scapes. Does anyone know how many scapes a well grown amaryllis bulb can produce? My amaryllis usually survive winters in my Cape May County, NJ garden. I do usually plant my bulbs with two or three inches of soil over the neck of the bulb.