Hello Kevin - Welcome to the forum. :) While a chiling period = forced dormancy, will indeed usually result in ealier blooms, but I don't believe the blooms will be "heavier" or more bountiful. The number of stalks your bulbs will produce will depend mostly on how many leaves (= stored energy) your bulbs were able to produce during its growing season. I believe the accepted rule of thumb for a scape or blooming stalk is five leaves = one scape,

In regards to precautions: protect the bulbs from moisture or being wet during these unusual cold periods. Cold temperatures + moisture = death (mold, rot, no good!). If it's below 40 degrees for consecutive days, I would even cover the bulbs with plastic or some sort of material. Good luck and please post pictures if and when they bloom.

Paxfleur, I've been shy about watering them, since it's been cold, and even more so now that they are going bald. Only minimal rainfall this year, too. Temps have been running in the high sixties in the day, and the low forties at night--an unusually small temp difference for the desert!

They have probably grown and worn through about 25-50 leaves each this year, but I doubt that they'll get get 5-10 scapes per bulb! I don't know how that rule of thumb will have to be tweaked for our long, hot growing season.

Thanks for the info, though! Earlier bloom is a bonus here, because the bud-killing heat arrives so early.

Kevin : )

Wow - and I thought I was doing great having a bulb with 10 leaves... 25-50 is amazing, Kevin. How large are the bulbs?
Alana

Welcome, Kevin! I gather you're growing your Hippeastrum bulbs directly in the ground, then? Oh, how I wish I could do that!

Pax is right... cold plus wet equal perfect conditions for rot! And if your bulbs are trying to rest now, I would suggest not watering at all. Let them rest, and when you see signs of new growth, the weather should be warmer and you could water them if they require it at that point.

Once they finish blooming, you could add a bit of fertilizer to the garden. That will be their time of active growth and the time when they are storing energy for their next bloom cycle.

I grow my bulbs indoors in containers, but the same general rules of thumb will apply. I think having patience and being observant are the two most important things these bulbs teach us!

Alana, the biggest bulb is about 5 1/2 inches in diameter, maybe more--I can't see 3/4 of it. Two about 5 inches wide, and the other seven work down from there. Two have been shrinking this summer (too much shade, I think). None of them have so many as 25 leaves at a time: old ones die as new ones grow. Usually they have around 8-12 leaves at a time. Curiously, as the leaves shrivel, the bulbs seem to be growing faster than I have seen them grow before, with splits in the tunics, and "heaving" of the soil around the shoulders

Jodik, I have been reluctant to stop watering completely, since this winter has been so dry, so far, and they still have some leaves, 'though probably not for long! I usually water about once every 4 weeks this time of year, through bloom. Once they bloom, and are growing new leaves, I water once a week and feed once a month, gradually tapering off as the weather cools again. Whenever I plant one, I mix lots of sand and pumice into my adobe clay soil, as well as compost, so the drainage is excellent. If you really think I should water less, okay, but remember that this isn't a cold, damp, dark basement.

Thank you both!
Kevin : ])

Well, Kevin... you know your environment better than anyone else, so you're the best judge of whether or not to water. I think it will largely depend on how your soil drains and how much growth is actually present. If your soil quickly becomes parched and dry, perhaps the addition of a little water would be good. And if the bulbs are still exhibiting some signs of growth... again, you're the best judge.

It also depends on what you mean by chilly... where I'm at, chilly is probably a lot lower of a temperature! When I was a kid, my Aunt and Uncle visited us here in Illinois... they were from Sacramento... when the temps dropped below 68, they frantically searched for their sweaters! To us, it's not cold until we darn near get a frost! :-)

Some bulb types are activated by temperature, and some are activated by light, as in shortening and lengthening days... from what I've been able to determine, light has a much bigger effect on Hippeastrum bulbs than does temperature. Some people claim that a cold dormancy in a dark, chilly basement makes them bloom better... but I grow mine as houseplants, and I allow them to dictate when to rest and when to bloom, and so far, they bloom every spring as the days lengthen. Since they're always indoors, the temperatures are fairly stable... somewhere around 68-72 degrees F all year.

Shrinking and offsetting, or growing larger... these factors are determined by a combination of things... genetic and environmental. Some bulbs will offset and then shrink and die, while others keep getting larger. Age will be a factor, genetics will play a role, and how you treat them and how your climate and weather is will all be variables.

It can probably be said, as a general piece of information, that the more mature a bulb, and the better care it's given, the better it will perform.

I'd love to see picture of your bulbs, Kevin. I think patches of blooming Hippeastrum bulbs look so awesome! I wish I could just plunk them in the flower beds, too!

Kevin, wow - that's awesome. I guess growing the bulbs right in the ground really increases their size. I've always summered my bulbs in large planters, but last year I bought a few "hardy Amaryllis" bulbs from Brecks and put them right into the ground in my garden, thinking I'd just leave them there and see how hardy they were. I had a change of heart come fall (mostly because they turned out to have nice blooms) so I lifted them - and was shocked how much they had grown from the tiny bulbs I had received in the spring. I think this year I'm going to put more of my bulbs directly in the garden. I might even get brave and leave a few out past fall - though with the cold we've been having lately I'm sure the outcome wouldn't have been good.
Alana

Alana, I wonder what would happen if you buried the bulbs a little deeper than you might normally? I wonder if that might be enough to protect them from a freeze such as we're having? That, or a good, thick layer of mulch material. I wonder...

I'm thinking that I might experiment a bit, and plant a few of my common variety kit bulbs directly in the garden... I'd have to dig them in fall, of course, but I could then store them as I would Glads or Cannas. An interesting notion, anyway.

Jodi, yup I agree - good thoughts. I really had planned to leave those Brecks ones out but they were too cute to risk. I'm going to put some of my WalMart ones and some Noids out this spring and leave them - good idea to plant a little deeper. And of course come fall with the residual dead leaves and a little extra mulch it will be interesting to see how they make out. I'm also going to put some out that I'll plan to lift when I'm pulling up the callas and glads (I'm chicken with my callas too!).
Alana

Jodi, I outlined the temperatures in my Jan. 6 post. If you had seen me when I was going to college in Flagstaff, you would have seen a "South Park Kid" waddling around in a down parka, while all the students from Montana or Idaho wandered about in T-shirts and sandles. It's definitely "sweater weather" for us native Phoenicians!

As for planting deeper for increased hardiness, Alana, I have my doubts. When I first started playing with Hippies as landscape plants, I planted them a couple of inches too deep, and it took them 4 years to start blooming! That only after they had shrunk to almost golf-ball-size, and worked their own way up to the proper depth. I think I wasted all my beginner's luck on their mere survival. That's why all my present plants are so young, and the first of my ofsets might bloom just this year.

Kevin : )

Kevin, interesting - thanks for the tip. The ones I put in the garden last year and lifted in the fall I had place just with their neck at ground level - and they got huge. I'm looking forward to seeing how many scapes they have this year. I'm going to leave out a few more common bulbs this coming fall - I think I'll just add extra mulch, and there's always the late falling leaves to keep them warm. I think it's worth a try.
Alana

Ok... well then, depth being what it is, perhaps an extra few inches of mulch is the way to go... and simply rake it off in early spring. I think leaving them in the ground will greatly depend on how much the ground freezes, how deeply, and for how long.

Another thought is to plant them on the lee side of a building that's heated in winter, such as the south or southeast side near your house. This should offer them more protection... perhaps just enough to see them through.

As a zone 5b gardener, my choices are limited. I love bulbs of all types, but the ones that are really my favorites are considered tender here. I don't do Glads, Dahlias, Cannas, or most other flowers that require digging and storing. I've tried a few, but I really don't have the time to mess with them. A shame, too, as some of the Dahlias this year are super gorgeous! Very tempting! The Callas I've seen in the catalogs are tempting, too! Very cool colors!

Thanks for the information, Kevin... it helps knowing the depth that will net the best results.