Not much help here: I have amaryllis in a pot that's two or three years old and has never bloomed. Maybe I should put it in the ground?

Nope, they need to go dormant in order to bloom, even if it's a forced dormancy via withheld water.

Tomatofreak, make sure it's getting some direct sun and that you're letting it sleep for 8 weeks prior to bloom time. You could probably even stand to feed it, here and there.... =)

i have had 2 of my amaryllises bloom twice since i planted them in october (there in the ground) the first was a force bloom (i got it from HD) the 2nd time was just this last week. i just wonder will they go dormant by them selves here or will i need to force them to sleep.

Generally speaking (generally, because although I have a number of Amaryllis, I have not put any into the ground) they are forced into dormancy via the gradual withdrawal of water, letting the leaves yellow and die off, and not watering again for 8 weeks or until you see a bloom stalk.

But if you got 2 blooms off of a bulb with no dormancy period, either you have a super-bulb (it could happen!) or they really don't need it afterall. But to my experience, if you don't withhold water, they'll just keep chugging along.

The other member here that grows these outdoors might have a better answer for you - he does keep it in a pot, I believe, but it shouldn't be too different.

I have an amaryllis in a pot on my patio. I tried to force dormancy...stopped watering it in, I think, September? It did lose some outer leaves, but kept some green leaves all the way through to January, and then, even without any water (it's under the eaves and wasn't getting any rainwater either), it started putting out new leaves. So, I gave in and started watering it again.

I would have loved to see it bloom again, but I have to admire it for being one tough plant!

plstqd, so it didn't bloom for you this year

Beautiful amaryllis blooms, Devonfawn, thanks for sharing them. I love them! They're one of my all time favorite flowers. I grow several dozen of them in the ground, and in pots and really enjoy them. Plus I've got several pots of seedlings outside and inside as well (from my own bee activities, LOL, and from seed-swapping with friends).

Anyway, they're easy to grow here and they'll usually rebloom nicely with little effort. I wouldn't force a dormancy here, but they'll slow down on their own in late summer and look fairly sad (except evergreen types), but they perk up again in spring. Really, they're quite happy here and fall in to their natural rythm of late winter/early spring blooms, summer leaves that get tired by autumn, not too much activity in autumn, and then blooms and leaves again in late winter. Just be sure to give them some afternoon shade or their leaves will bleach/scorch. Mine best in-ground plants are on the east side of the house, or a wall, or a big shade-casting plant. I've had several since 2000 and they bloom almost every year. I think more people should be growing them! :)

Take care and happy gardening, keep us posted on your plants, they're really lovely!
Grant

Just for fun, here's a couple of pics of some of mine that I've posted here before. Happy gardening everyone!

Hippeastrum striatum in bloom this past April, with good old variegated Hippeastrum 'Mrs. Garfield' in a pot on the patio. I grow clumps of H. striatum in several pots and in the ground around the garden. The blooms aren't as big and lovely as your fancy Dutch hybrids, but they're my favorite color (orange) and they're virtually evergreen so I really enjoy them.
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Hippeastrum x johnsonii and old time cultivar, also from this past April.

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A no-ID one in the ground on the east side of the house. This one actually just tossed up a late bloom last month:

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Mrs. Garfield bloom

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Dang, if I'd known they were that easy, I'd have stuck these in the ground a couple years ago! I've moved their pot to the shade, so perhaps I should leave them alone till fall?

They really ARE easy here. Some afternoon shade in summer sounds good for them. I just water them when they're dry, and slop some all purpose fertilizer on them in late winter, early and mid spring, and then nothing else the rest of the year. Like Pagan mentioned they do want some sort of dormancy, but our weather generally gives it to them so no need to force anything, just let 'em do their thing. Most "forced" ones purchased bare-root will skip their first year since they're tired from blooming after being bare-root, but after that they bloom most years. The ones above all bloom repeatedly for me. The only one that only flowered when I bough it, and then not since (3 years, grumble) is H. papilio, the "butterfly amaryllis" which is notoriously finicky in all climates. I haven't given up though! In general though, most hipps are super easy. Have fun with them, and just let them do their thing in general. Happy gardening!

Devonfire, no, mine didn't bloom this year. But it was a "forced bare root" one as Grant described, so perhaps it was just resting, and will do something for me this year!