Hi pitimpinai: If you've planted your Amaryllis in the kit, unpot it, buy a far bigger pot and re-pot it - as soon as possible - per the recommended suggestions discussed below. I've grown these bulbs for a number of years and one of the "tricks" is to place them in a much larger pot than is usually recommended. Currently, I have a Amaryllis bulb planted in a 16 inch diamter pot and it is doing very, very well. If fact, it has two "kids" growing as well. Many years ago, when I went to repot one of my bulbs and noted that the roots of these bulbs were comparatively large and I came to the conclusion that the usually recommended procedure of the "forcing" i.e. planting - of these bulbs in pots that are just an inch or two larger than the diameter of the bulb is FALSE - mainly because there is insufficient room for root growth and equally insufficient room for the take up of nutrients let alone enough room for good nourishment. In short, there seems to be no logic to place these bulbs in a 'straight-jacket' and expect them to grow in stature or longevity. No human being can "grow" under such straight-jacket conditions, so why should be come to believe that the same method should be more than 'suitable' for plants. Doesn't make any sense. Consequently, I repotted my bulbs in much larger pots 12 - 16 inches minimum. Of course, I trimmed the roots and got rid of much of the 'old' soil and gave the bulb a nice new home of good potting soil. I would highly recommend that you pot your Amaryllis in a good sized 14 or 16 inch pot with some depth to it. One of the consequences of this development was the magnificant array of blooms that I experienced in their third year of growth. Not only did the bulb grow larger, but the mother bulb gave 'birth' to several 'kids' so that I ended up with three or four or more stalks all full of bloom one Christmas. Lovely - absolutely lovely. I had two stalks coming off of the mother bulb. I did repot this bulb in the fall of last year into a 16 inch pot, because I had one 'kid' who was making it's appearance. We have a horticultural program where I work and I donated the 'kid' to the program and it was potted up in a nice large pot. Sure enough, the 'kid' came into bloom this spring. Another source for my idea and inspiration was the story I was told about one of the former employees working at Kelly's Seed & Hardware in Peoria, IL. This employee - of German heritage - planted his Amaryllis bulbs outside in the late spring and early summer in a very deeply prepared and in a very loose soil structure. He fertilized and watered them on a regular basis and ended up with Soccer sized Amaryllis bulbs in the late fall. I would have loved to see his bulbs and talked with him about how he accomplished this, but I do think that planting these bulbs in far larger pots than usually recommended is very beneficial (and equally enjoyable). With regard to a suggested soil mixture, I would purchase a very good, loose, humusy soil mixture or make one up myself with good potting soil, some perlite, some aged cow manure, and some sphagnum peat moss and then give the bulb and soil a very good soaking of 1/2 strength fertilizer and then let it rest for a bit and then water it. You can then give it another good soaking with 1/2 strength fertilizer and then a watering when needed. And repeat the process. Hope this information becomes more than inspirational in your Amaryllis growing efforts. Bill

Dave, I have never tried to sow them directly primarily because they are so light and would easily blow away. I imagine that you could very easily, but they will not do well if they dry out. So, keeping the surface moist will probably be your biggest challenge. However, you could germinate them inside, either in small covered containersor ziploc bags or you could float them in water (make sure the water, then transplant them. I may try that with some of mine this year. I live near the panhandle of Florida, and our climate is about the same. I have left them outside with minimal protection the first year, and most of them did just fine. It just depends on how cold our winter gets. You could always cover them on nights of hard freezes.

Laurier, I think I can explain what you are missing. Northwest Florida is very similar to my climate and not at all like Central or South Florida which rarely has frosts or freezes. The difference is that you have your seedlings in a more controlled (warmer temperature) environment. The person producing the video is obviously letting them grow outside in pots all year around with minimal protection from the cold. This means that they will definitely go into dormancy from around Thanksgiving (or perhaps before) until March each year. In pots, they will be dormant even longer than they would in the ground. Certainly, seeedlings will bloom in less time if kept in a warmer environment with more light than our winters tend to provide. The tradeoff is in the numbers of seedlings that you can grow outside, in pots, as opposed to inside or in a temperature controlled greenhouse under lights. I hope that helps you to understand the difference in growth rates. Larger numbers with slower growth outside vs. smaller numbers inside, under lights... They appear to be giving the pod parent name with no indication of pollen parents. In my opinion, that is better than giving a pod parent name and saying it is crossed with the pollen of an unlikely cross due to insufficient controls and documention. We all have a lot to learn. I started learning hybridizing daylilies. That made it easier to understand hippeastrum. BTW, daylilies are the same in regards to dormancy in seedling years. If you can manage to keep them warm and under lights during that first year or two, they will bloom much quicker. Hope that helps... Ann

Skeptical of certain plants and their survival in certain areas, perhaps, but I'm not sure how I sound patronizing... I think you misinterpret my meaning... I'm not criticizing your understanding... I'm simply not sure whether you are visualizing my growing circumstances and actual locality as they are... and since you don't have your zone or locale included in your visible member information, I couldn't know you are in Indiana, and I still don't really know what part of Indiana or what your individual growing environment is like. It could be quite different from mine. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I've been away from the forum for quite some time, so I haven't yet had the pleasure of getting to know you through your postings. I haven't had much time to gauge your level of gardening, nor get a feel for who you are, your writing style, where you garden, etc... and I don't know how much you've read about me in past threads. One thing I've learned in the many decades I've been gardening is never to trust the data on a plant's commercial tag... very often, they contain culture information that's not quite truthful. In order to find what's closer to the truth, one must do some research... and by some research, I mean using several resources to get a feel for what's correct. I've seen tags on supposed perennials at certain garden centers and listings in catalogs that contain obviously incorrect data, but a sale is a sale to some companies... and many consumers aren't that concerned with having to repurchase should the plant die. As I mentioned in another thread, the industry is what it is. If a plant is rated zone 5, I will often consider it borderline for my individual conditions, and opt instead for something rated at zone 4 or 3, to ensure a better chance of winter survival, and better peace of mind for myself. Our gardens are so packed that I have few protected places left to put things. Tender Amaryllids and other unusual bulbed plants are a personal interest that I dabble in... hardy old garden roses are our business, though we're a young business. As far as I'm aware, most Hymenocallis are native to more tropical and subtropical areas. Only a very few Hymenocallis grow in Illinois, Hymenocallis caroliniana being one... but only in the very southernmost areas of the state. It's not a bulb I could leave in the ground through winter as I'm much farther north. I don't think I'd want to risk it. Crinum is another bulb I'm fairly certain is more common to tropical and subtropical areas. Lycoris, too, generally do not survive winters as far north as I live, with the exception of Lycoris squamigera. I have never seen any of these plants growing in this general area, nor have I heard of anyone leaving them in the ground through winter. Most, to my knowledge, are considered "tender". I'm familiar with the name Jim Shields... I've read quite a bit of his writings. In many of those writings, he mentions having bulbs planted in what I would consider protected areas, such as up against walls, greenhouse walls, etc... which may account, in small part, for some of his success. His main success stems from the fact that he's very knowledgeable of the bulbs he grows and what they require. He also notes that Lycoris squamigera does not generally set seed, and yet... I had seed pods galore in all of my Lycoris patches. My point being, different gardeners can experience very different results. I'm originally from the Illinois/Wisconsin border area, which is a mere 3 or 3 and a half hours away... and many of the plants I couldn't grow there, I am able to grow here with great success. There are many factors that contribute to a plant's ability to survive and thrive through the climate conditions of a specific gardening zone. Just because you or Jim Shields can grow some of the bulbs you mention, does not mean I can expect the same success. There are simply too many variables to guarantee such a thing. I offered thanks for the bulb list you wrote, which took effort you certainly did not have to expend. I'm still not sure how you would consider that patronizing. When I said thank you, that's exactly what I meant... thank you. :-)