Hi yesimarose: I've posted this response elsewhere and am modifying it very briefly - mostly due to the time factor - lots of stuff to plant - I am still working out in the garden planting some last minute items, I decided to take a short "coffee break" ;>) - mostly to warm up a bit - and saw your posting. If you've planted your Amaryllis, unpot it, and 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 three "kids" growing around the mother bulb. 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 we 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. One of the responses to your posting has given you photographic evidence of this occurrence. When this number of bulbs are in bloom, they are a joy to experience. I did repot my current 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 until water drains out of the bottom. Some time later, you can then give it another good soaking with 1/2 strength fertilizer and from then give some watering when needed. And repeat the process of fertilzing, then watering as needed, i.e. let the top few inches of the soil dry out and use your finger as a "tester". Hope this information becomes more than inspirational in your Amaryllis growing efforts. Bill

Hmmm... Odd because the photo I posted is from their site! I do know, as does Hans-Werner, that at the Keukenhof show they pick the best of the best.. The biggest, brightest, and scapes with the most blooms. The breeder said the bulbs don't reliably produce more than 2 blooms. The photos that Donna posted just raise more questions. Hans-Werner, your PapMinPic is beautiful! We just may never know, maybe the photo I posted is a first bloom and with maturity the bulb produces nicer and "more acceptable" blooms. Hmmm. K

Very nice grouping, Kristi! I didn't know "Alfresco" had any scent... so few do. I think if I had the wherewithal, I would absolutely place every bulb in a raised bed for the summer, giving them good spacing, which would allow them the room to spread out and really grow healthy root systems and nice leaves with which to 'feed' the bulbs and help them accumulate better girth... but it's also a lot of work to keep potting and un-potting depending on the changing seasons, and I'd be a little worried about insect and snail or slug damage. Of course, one could use a systemic in the bed to keep insects at bay. I hesitate to mix different types of plants in one pot, unless we're talking about seasonal arrangements of decorative annuals, mainly because I want all the nutrition to go toward the bulb, and not to be 'stolen' by a ground cover that is planted purely for aesthetic purposes. I think Oxalis stands well on its own, and I wouldn't want to take away from its lovely blooms, interesting leaves, or its kind of odd schedule for growing and blooming, from my experience. Ivy might be a different story, but again, I would hesitate because most ivies grown indoors as houseplants seem to be spider mite magnets, and prefer an environment that has higher humidity. Of course, these are just my opinions and experiences, which should not interfere with what anyone else wants to try or do. Your own experiences may vary. I try to study the needs and characteristics of each bulb before potting, so I know how tall it will grow, when it's most likely to bloom, etc... so I have a good idea of which bulbs match each other and which are too different to share medium in one pot. I could always plant them according to which bloom colors and sizes match, or by any other criteria, really. Until this year, I had them all potted individually, but it takes up so much space to have all those pots... and space isn't something I will have the luxury of once we finally make the move north. Therefore, it makes more sense to group them, in my case.

Concluding from several fertilizer solution formulas for ornamentals and greens as well, documented for the optimized usage in hydroponic cultivation I can nearly exclude that there is any rational argument for the hight phosphorous content in these - as it seems to me - typical american bloom boosters. For elucidation I have first averaged the concentrations of 10 formulas which were so remarkably similar - they did not substantially differ from each other, despite of being designed for Chrysanthemums, tomatoes, cucumbers, paprika, cymbidiums and so on... And then I calculated the resulting ratio of N:P:K - more exactly meaning the ratios of m(N) : m(P2O5) : m(K) (!) (Kalium = Potassium; see below) cations:___________mmol/L___mg/L____________mmol/L___mg/L Kalium K+__________6.0______235___eq K2O____3.0______283 Calcium Ca++_______3.0______120 Magnesium Mg++_____0.75_____18 Ammonium NH4+_____0.5 ______9_____eq N______0.5______7 anions: Nitrat NO3-________10.5_____651___eq N______10.5_____147 pr.PhosphatH2PO4-__1.5______145___eq P2O5___0.75_____107 Sulfat SO4--________1.0______96 From this recalculated recipe I obtain a ratio gropup for m(N) : m(P2O5) : m(K) as (7+147) : 107 : 283 eq 1.44 : 1.00 : 2.64 or coarsely 1.5 : 1 : 2.5 or a multiple from that for example 4.5 : 3 : 7.5 For my part - I use one 6 : 3 : 6 since many years - at 1000 pm with every watering, and I feel myself confirmed by its similarity to the calculated ratio above. I mention these aspects because Phosphorous is a possibly very dangerous macronutrient when overdosed. It will at least immobilize essential micronutrients in the substrate thus making them inaccessible for the plant. A miraculous bloom-o-gene booster-feeding formula of 15:30:15 eq 4 : 8 : 4 is in my eyes simply grotesque *ggg* A further confirmation of my "Miracle-Maxi-P" offending point of view *ggg* is that the modern solid German fertilizers of the brand "Hakaphos" are ALL composed on a basis of a rather low phosphorous content at least as compared to Potassium (Kalium). Compo-Naehrsalzehref> Hans-Werner