Hi Willy,
I am expecting my first "seeds" any day now. I self-pollinated and it seems to have worked because I have 2 nice big fat seedpods (the callayx?). The flower has dried and fallen off and the stem is also almost completely fallen over & dried out but the seedpods are still green. At what point do I remove them and harvest the seeds?

Hi Willy
Eight years to bloom? that must be a record.Mine take three, but I am working on reducing it to two.Let us see if my crop of MAY 2005 blooms in APRIL 2007.These seedlings have already cought up with the crop of MAY 2004.
Thanks to HANS-Werner for his guidence.
ARIF

Hi Guys!!!!!!:>)
Good idea about soaking the seeds, I was.nt sure that this
would be safe for Amaryllis seeds,
The nicking part, I was taught by a Professor of Botany,
a friend, that one could cut the blunt end of rose seeds
to facilitate germination.But for the life of me I forget
the little machine he made to hold the seed while he chopped the end off.He has since passed on..too bad.
Willy you had me scared, I was going to give up as 8 years would put me at 74 and I wouldnt live long enuf to spend the millions I would make from my best in show Amaryllis seedling LOL. 3 is okay.. Misting sounds like a good idea.
How about keeping the pollen in a plastic camera film container???? Thanks Jack PS Arif let us know how you make out getting a seedling to flower in two years and your
method of accomplishing it :>)

Hello Everyone
I have read that you can germinate the seed by floating them in water and when sprouted plant them, them I read where you can wait till they sprout a leaf them plant them . I found seeds that I had forgotten about they were over a year old , everyhere says but after few months they are less likely to grow. So I thought what the heck, I have a aquarium that I have be to lazy to bing it in the basment , So I put about four inches of water and used the waterproof heater laying on its side, and heated the water to 28 C. the same temp. I use for breediing bettas LOL after 4 days I had roots and after 10 days little leaves
I am trying to post the pictures but I can´t figure out how to do that in this post So I hope the link below works :-),
P.S. Everywhere you read it says the seeds that sink are no good that is not true , they are just slower to sprout , Right now I have 90 % germination and the other are still sprouting
Sorry about may spelling and the long text
Kenny

Here is a link that might be useful: My Seedlings

Hi Kenny:
Great pics of your germinating seedlings...
Seeds that are viable or have an egg or embryo in
them that will grow DO sink, they say that seeds that have
no embyo will not sink as there is no weight to them
and they float. Will try your water germinating, with a bit different
way. maybe a plastic dish or paper towel on top of the fridge or other warm bottom heat place, good stuff,
have germinated other types of seeds that way,but they were
usually in a hard case.
So we know most Amaryllis seeds have a long shelf life...
Great to know, you must have looked after them the right way...Thanks a bunch Jack

hi everyone,just wanted to say ,given wrong information I GUESS,ON HOE MANY YEAR TILL THEY FLOWER.glad you said it was only three years thats a lot better.than 8 year.that means in 2007 summer have my amaryllis blooming about 30 of them. that will be fun.how do you post a picture here to show ?? thanks
willy

I have a question.

I thought I had successfully polinated my flower when I saw the large pods form after the flower died. Today I noticed one pod looked really shrunken so I decided to touch it. The pod was completely mushy, which is not what I was expecting. I figured it would be solid

When the pods form are they suppose to be and remain solid 'til they dry?

Any help would be appreciated.

I've got 2 pods from a red lion. I hand fertilize them. The first flower has a huge seed pod, the second a much smaller one. I just let them hang, they don't look too great but I really want the seeds to mature so I'm trying not to mess with it. I think it was Willy who said just leave them until they split open. I'm watching and when they change color from green to brownish, I'm going to put a bag around it so if they split when I'm not around I'll still have my long awaited seeds!

wrf,

Mine were looking all mushy and soft. Not at all dry...so I decided to pull one off and open it. And inside looked like what appeared to be an aborted flower. I've read that some times that happens.

I guess I'm lucky, it's bad luck but at least it's luck.

awww, sorry about that MBT. I'd be happy to share some of mine if you want them. I'm really only harvesting them for that reason. I've already got a bunch of white lion seedlings that I started last summer too.

I just planted my first Amaryllis seeds today. I'm sooooo excited!!! My pregnant Red Lion seed pod split open the other day and I decided to use my simple seed growing technique...Jiffy seed mix in doughnut containers. Those clear plastic mini-doughnut containers with a lid to open/close it are just like a mini-greenhouse. I've had maybe 95% success with my seed growing using this. Hope my Amaryllis seed won't go to the other 5%...wish me luck!

wrf,

Thanks for the offer. Although I don't think I need any more RLs. I have one and hopefully he or she will put out pups. Although now I regret letting it go to seeds and stressing it for no reason.

I have what are suppose to be WLs growing too. Maybe I'll have better luck, if not I'm taking pics because it sure was interesting to find that flower inside. Thanks again for the offer I really appreciate it.

mariava7,
Why don't you rub it in some more. :0(
Good luck with your seeds, hope you get them to sow. Make sure to take pics to share.

MBT

I did took a pic of my "little greenhouse" MBT but I just don't know how to post them here. I can send pics through email though. If they do sow (crossing my fingers), I'll take another pic and then figure out how to post it here. That should be in the next 2 weeks.

Maria,
Have you ever posted the pictures of this "little greenhouse?"

Soultan...Yes I did. Do a search on "Greenhouse" or "Doughnut"...lol. That should lead you there. Then until now, I use this method.

I went and searched it for you Soultan. Here's the link

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/amaryllishippeastrum/msg011517391182.html

The only difference then and now is that I use Fafard seed mix now. Jiffy mix changed their ingredients and took out the vermiculite...not good. Fafard gives me excellent results.

Maria,

You are basically doing the same as I am.

I use something called Lambert's potting mix and amend it heavily with Perlite and Vermiculite. Lambert's has a little charcoal in it and is easy to get wet. This is for the bottom layer. I cover that with vermiculite, water well, then add the seeds and another layer of vermiculite.

Light is not essential to germination. When I first tried to germinate seeds, I was trying to keep them fresh longer, so I placed them in barely damp vermiculite in a ziploc bag in the bottom of the fridge and to my surprise, they were germinating in the fridge. That indicates that neither heat or light are absolutely essential, but I think that both heat and light helps.

I have also germinated them in damp vermiculite in ziploc bags with heat and light.

They are SOOoooo easy. The primary need is to use fresh seed and keep the media from drying out until the seeds have germinated.

I prefer the soiless mix over the floatation method because my schedule gets rather hectic, and I can delay transplanting them, if need be. In water, you have to be more careful.

Have FUN!

Here's a link for the lazies (like me):

Here is a link that might be useful: new to amaryllis how do i grow this from seeds

Hehe... I have so many seeds I cannot do the donught method. I have to plant them outside. I hope they will still grow up healthy and plenty.

I am actually thinking about tryng that...

The only considerations that would have to be made is keeping them evenly moist and preventing them from washing away in the first heavy rainfall.

And not to forget, this unreal 99 degree heat wave we have been having. I think they will need to be in filtered shade.

Good LUCK! And do, please let us know how they do for you!

I would put them under some trees. We are virtually in the middle of a forest in the middle of the city on a hillside, so I have plenty of shade. The only problem are the animals, the deers. I'm afraid, they'd eat up my seedlings, so I will have to erect some kind of fence to keep them protected.

I just tried the 'Float on Water' method for the first time on seeds I purchased from eBay (Chico X Emerald). I was simply amazed at the results. Of 32 seeds floated on the water, one actually started to show a root developing in 14 hours, just overnight. As of now, after 8 days, at least 23 have roots and some are starting to send out the leaf. I'll start planting them in a sterile mix tonight I think.

Other times I had germinated seed in the mix, and they were much slower and I lost many just as they sprouted the leaf.

George

I have germinated 3 different kinds by floating in water and am ready to plant the seedlings. Any hints on successful transplanting? Do you just transplant as you would any seedling? I also plan to use the doughnut container as a mini greenhouse.

I tried this floating method a few months ago with some of my seeds. It just does not work to good for me unfortunately. Yes they will show roots in a few days, but this could also be happening in seeds planted in seed mix. After I carefully transplant them in seed mix, they are slow to recover or put out leaves for me than the ones started in soil mix. The transfering of their growing environment from water to seed mix seems to cause a setback on them.

If you closely look at the roots of an amaryllis, tiny hair like roots grow from the main root which would eventually become thicker and become "sub-roots" as they get older. Water grown roots seem to be more brittle than soil grown. I am thinking that maybe, even if I carefully transplanted them, some of this roots could have been damaged. Damaged roots/root tips if I remember right do not regrow in that point of damage. They will need to regrow roots from another area. This could be a reason for the setback my "water-rooted" seeds experience.

One more point. Roots are produced by these seeds to get nourishment for the embryo so it could leaf out eventually. More nutrients are readily available for the root in soil than in water.

Just my thoughts and experience...