Very nice Red Lions... and nice growth on the smaller ones! I admire your frugal containers, too! A good idea, as long as they have adequate drainage... soil that remains damp can cause bulbs and their roots to rot fairly quickly.

The other flowers are pretty, too! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing your firsts. I like your containers too.

I was actually wondering where I can find round see-through containers to go with some of my better-looking-yet-no-drainage pots. I thought I could lift the see-through part to make sure not to overwater them.

It is actually interesting to see the roots bounded in a transparent container. I will share the pictures when I get to do it.

-GM

GM, a word about our northern climate and the soil... be very careful when using pots without drainage, especially with regular bagged potting soils.

After much ado, I have opted to use unglazed clay pots and a very gritty, sharp-draining, inorganic medium with a larger particle size to pot all my bulbs in. Since abandoning regular potting soils, I haven't had any issues with rot, fungi, or even fungus gnats! It's sort of like a good bonsai medium, allowing the roots plenty of aeration and the capacity to dry out a bit faster than regular soils.

I've posted a link below to an article that helped me become a better bulb gardener. By understanding what happens under the soil, and how container gardening differs so much from regular gardening, I understood better how to grow my bulbs and other plants optimally. It's a wonderful read, and I hope you take the time to really check it out!

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention VI

It seems that you're off to a good start on your amaryllis. Sometimes they aren't as impressive when purchased later in the season, I think they'll be OK.

The container soils article is a good one. Did you make drainage holes in the bottom of your bottles? If not, you still could. I like the idea of the clear container inside another to see the roots and soil. I start some cuttings in clear plastic cups (after I make drainage holes) and that way I can tell when they have made roots.

That banana shrub looks/sounds/smells cool. I've never seen one.

Musaboru,
WOW! Michelia figo!!!! Bannana shrub. I absolutely love that plant. I'm waiting for Michelia alba to become available widely, same family but different frangrance the perfume JOY is made from it. Figo is on my list but I want a larger size plant than I've seen available. Darn I need a green house! LOL

As others have posted, late season bulbs don't often perform up to par. If well fed, drained, and cared for you'll be much happier with them next blooming cycle.

Good luck,
Chaz

I agree... the fresher the bulbs, the better the bloom. It's always wise to buy your bulbs early in the bulb season, which would be around Christmas time. Once you get to February and March, the bulbs are getting a little "old" from sitting in storage or in someone's warehouse. They've expended energy to stay alive that should be going toward bloom, but they have no choice. They're usually kept in large coolers, which helps retard growth and moisture loss, but still... evaporation happens, and the lifeblood of a bulb is moisture.

We're all guilty of buying bulbs late in the season, though... it's tough to pass up those sale prices! And with good care, as everyone says, the next bloom cycle will be a good one!

Granted it is not advisable. However many gift-boxed Amaryllis planters do not have a drainage hole. This shows part of the root system of my Red Lion in its original transparent inner container. The outer container is actually a metal box with some design on it.

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The first thing I do when I buy a bulb kit that comes with a pot and soil disk is pitch the pot and soil disk!

I go right for my unglazed clay pots and my inorganic bonsai like medium, which are both much healthier for the bulb!

With very careful watering and a watchful eye, there's nothing wrong with growing in any container with any soil you prefer... however, my bulb collection is vast and my environment unique, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to make what I feel are substandard conditions work for me if I don't have to.

Since Hippeastrum bulbs are susceptible to rot from fungi and are rather fussy about watering techniques, I prefer to make my bulbs as comfortable and healthy as I possibly can... and this involves using breathable clay pots with drainage holes and a medium that gives me complete control over moisture and feeding.

Besides, I hate re-potting every year, and finding dead or dying roots suffocated under poor soil. :-)