Yes, I do think we have the right climate for hippys since I can grow them very easily [i.e. I just throw them somewhere in the garden and in due time, they come up with beautiful blooms. I have been having red hippys for years and able to force them into blooms for Lunar New Year too. The problem with us is we don't have many variety, just the plain, single red. Weekend before last, I went to the plant vendors and found the pink one. so I just snatched it and paid the equivalent of $2 [which is very expensive]. The common red one is only $0.35! So I'd love to be able to propagate my 2 varieties. But I failed in my first attempt with the pink one. I really adore all the photos of your beautiful amaryllis. Just day-dreaming about them all day at work!!! I cut this one for my enjoyment in the office! Xuan

You should wait till the foliage dies back. Also I'm not so sure I'd move the mother bulb, it obviuosly likes it right where it is. I would remove all the young stem bulbs from around the mother and give them their own spot to grow in, but I'd try not to disturb the mother bulb at all. I have dug up clumps of my lilies when they got crowded only to have the mother bulb underperform once disturbed. I now only remove the offsets and don't touch the mom and it works very well for me. This would not be the case if you had a bulb that was splitting, then you would have to dig up the whole clump to separate them, but what you are describing is a bulb that is producing stem bulbs. On a similar note I had an oriental lily last year that looked like a tree. It's stem was almost 2 inches thick and it had dozens and dozens of blooms. I was excited to see what it would look like this year. To my disapointment the bulb split, I now have 3 large lilies, each one with a stem almost an inch and a half thick, instead of one monster. Oh well the 3 lilies will probably have more flowers than the one monster would have. Good luck with your lilies. Pat

Christie, the Lilies you received are most likely Orientals 'Casablanca'. They are very common and cheap. You can buy their bulbs at any big box store locally in spring or fall. This is a hybrid Lily and it will not come true to type from seeds. Besides, it is virtually impossible to collect seeds from the cut flowers. Also, Lilies bloom once a year. The regular time for Orientals to bloom is July. Your Lilies were forced to bloom in June. So you will not be able to "have lilies like this on your kitchen table daily".

I agree it looks asiatic however my only reason for being somewhat curious is there is a lily growing where the black lily was planted. I'm sure you're right as I assumed the same thing but just odd that they would have swapped locations. The lily in the spot where the black was planted isn't growing well and is very short but does have sepals forming so I'm hoping they bloom and if they are white I know that somehow the two swapped spots and the black I planted was indeed a mislabeled bulb. You confirmed my theory which is what I wanted but was even dubious of NY own theory lol.