For the potted baby bulb, a little bottom heat wouldn't hurt. It might encourage root formation a little faster than normal. Just keep the soil slightly moist, but not overly wet, give it some nice dappled sunlight, and roots should form in due course. For future reference, I usually separate the youngsters from the mother bulb after they begin to develop their own tiny set of roots. But Al is right, too... you can take them sooner. For me, it's just easier to wait until the babies have roots and are able to thrive on their own. You can also leave the daughter bulbs attached to Mom and just re-pot the group together into a larger container. If you're separating from garden planted bulbs, you can dig the clump at the appropriate time of year and just break them apart... they come apart easily... and then replant, giving them some space to continue growing without being crowded. Hippeastrum bulbs are fairly easy to grow, as long as you are careful about preventing too much moisture for too long a period of time. Honestly, it's better to err on the dry side, if you err at all. I'm in the north, so these are tender bulbs for me. I only wish I could grow them in the garden! A word of caution about insects... the Narcissus Bulb Fly absolutely loves Hippeastrum bulbs, and will devastate a collection in short order! If you Google this pest, you'll see that it's a small bee-like fly... This, from the Pacific Bulb Society's website: "A single egg is laid at the base of the leaves during late spring/early summer where it hatches a few days later. The larva crawls down the leaf to the bulb where it normally enters through a hole it makes in the basal plate and begins to feed on the bulb. Although less common, the larva can enter the bulb through a hole it makes in the side of the bulb or through the very tip. Usually there is only one larva per bulb per season but more than one is not rare..." More information at the link below... To prevent damage, I use a generous helping of a granular systemic that both feeds and prevents insects. Bayer makes a good product for this purpose. It's a blue container, and I believe the name is Bayer 2 in 1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care. I'd prefer not to use chemicals, but I enjoy my bulbs too much to risk another devastation. Last year, the tiny bulb flies somehow got inside my home, and I ended up losing a lot of very lovely and expensive Amaryllids and other tender bulbs. They could have come in on a plant, or snuck in through a crack or through a screen... I don't really know how. All I know is that I noticed a few bulbs shrinking, and when I checked them, they contained ugly little white larvae that had eaten most the bulb flesh. Not only were my bulbs devastated, I was, too. That's one of the reasons I haven't been really enthusiastic about "talking bulbs" lately. I managed to salvage some, and I quickly gave everyone a good dose of systemic to prevent anything else from happening. I don't want to freak anyone out, or anything... but just be aware that this can be an issue if the NBF lives in your area of the country. The tough part is that they're not really very noticeable, so you might not see them. You'll only know after the damage has been done. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they say. It sounds like you have everything pretty much under control... enjoy your beautiful bulbs! :-) Here is a link that might be useful: NBF Information

This looks like a bulb of Lycoris to me. I hope that the roots are not already shriveled up now! Plant it immediately, into a bigger pot, where the substrate will not dry out so fast. Take care to not bend them roots, and plant so deeply as that the greenish parts still show out. Water well once, until the water drains out of the bottom holes. Set the pot slightly skew, upto 45°, in order to remove the water excess more completely. Water very sparingly from-then-on, from the bottom = into the soucoupe - keep the soil just moist until the water demand will increase, due to the growth of new leaves.

Hello Jiay; I would under take re-planting only if I was running out of space or there was reduction in blooming. It was a very interesting topic. What is the minimum space essential for a large bulb? Personaly in the ground I would plant them 6 inches appart and except for feeding, forget them untill blooming is effected. I planned to keep them insito for atleast 5 years, but found it imprecticable as I had to accomodate my seedlings every year in the limited space I have. Most bewildering for me is the space requirement in the pot. In this forum I have observed pots of 4 inch to 8 inches for a single bulb. I use 10 inch pot for a single bulb and bigger pots for a family or a cluster. So in your opinion what should be the best utilisation of the space, in other words bulb space ratio. ARIF

I floated some old seeds in warm water a few weeks ago.I have roots forming. Don't know what method work better, but this one let's me see what is going on.Pretty cool! Theresa Here's an excerpt from the amaryllis forum. "CALIFORNIA METHOD OF GERMINATING AMARYLLIS SEED" Select a clear glass container with as much surface available as possible. Fill 2/3 with water. Begin with very warm, but not hot, water. Float each amaryllis seed on the surface, either side up. They should not touch, but they may drift to touching and there's no real harm done. Put the container in a place with strong light but not in direct sun. The non-viable seed will sink to the bottom and may be removed. After a few days, each viable seed will put down a white root. When the root is a half-inch or so long, prepare pots with your choice of potting mix. You may make a community pot with several seeds in it, or prepare one pot for one seed. I prefer the latter because you do not have to transplant again nearly as soon. Poke a hole in the potting mix and gently put the white root into the mix, leaving the seed flat on the surface. Place mix around root. Water gently. Place flats with pots in strong light, but not yet sunlight. In a few days you will see a grasslike blade arising from each leaf. Gradually move pots into stronger light. Ultimately, place the pots in the strongest light available, but only early morning or late afternoon sun. The amaryllis will form tiny bulbs that increase as time goes on. A weak fertilizer (Peters 20-20-20 is fine, but diluted from usual strength) may be given every 10 days or two weeks. Keep the amaryllis growing right through the winter. They do not need to go dormant until they have a rather large bulb. Sometimes a bloom can occur in as little as 18 months, but more normally, blooms occur from 18 months to 3 years. You need move the small amaryllis into larger pots only when they really get potbound. Even then moving them into a four-inch pot will suffice for several years. If the seed are good when you begin, there will be nearly 100% germination with this method. If you keep them moist, but not wet, they will continue to grow and thrive during the crucial first few months. Drying out is not good for the very young plants. They may also be grown successfully under fluorescent lights for the first year or so. This method floats seed until the root is developing and some folks will float till leaves are growing. Some just soak overnight then plant. One item I have always been told is that the seeds viability is short and the sooner planted the higher the germination. Store in the fridge if you need to hold them for any length of time. The Clemson link under the Slicing Bulbs topic will help with ideas also plus it gives recommended fertilizer rates for the babies.