if one were to begin withholding water now the bulbs would be majorly stressed. during my first few years with hybrid hippeastrum i did my best to follow the advice of garden writers and i always wondered why my bulbs continued to shrink in size from their once massive proportions to tiny husks of their former selves. my advice, if its still warm keep watering and feeding. i usually keep a regular watering schedule until the temps are in the 70's then i stop watering unless they are almost completely dry so as to stave off any rot or stress. even if the bulbs were to be forced, which i am strongly against, it's still to early. if Christmas blooms were desired it would be far better to either purchase a new bulb that is already prepped for bloom or allow the bulb you already have to become almost dry remove the leaves and place in a cool spot, that is maintained in the 50's, then move to a warm, well lit spot and begin watering again. personally, i allow my bulbs to flower on their own schedule.

That Kathy Huber...Pat, she can't be right!! Last year, I think I put bulbs away in Nov/Dec....and then didn't water til I saw new growth. My plants are over 3' tall right now! UGH...she can't be right.

BUT...what do I tell the garden club that I am talking to on Oct 14th?? I think I'll tell them to buy bulbs specifically for holiday blooms and enjoy them in following years in the spring when they go on their own schedule. SIGH...this is tough because people will want to know how to force in the Houston area year after year. We are just too hot to do it! Two month of cool followed by 4-6 weeks of growing! I couldn't cut them down when they look so healthy! MAJOR STRESS!!
Kristi

I have tried every suggestion offered by any one to get early blooms or timed blooms and FAILED. Forcing dormancy in my climate is of little value. Infact it does more harm than good. My hippies are ever green and do not like disturbance of any type.
I have lost many good bulbs in these experiment.

GROW THEM AS THEY WANT TO.
Arif

I too have given up forcing - they bloom by surprise when I least expect it. Recently I had Christmas in July: Toledo with 2 simultaneously scapes, and a very, very short-scaped Matterhorn, but with 2 perfect white blooms to accent Toledo quite nicely:
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For Christmas blooms - I buy new ones!

Many thanks for the feedback y'all. Will post pics again soon.

With My Aulicum and Calyptratum I tend to start watering LESS in the fall months when it starts to cool down, I never force dormancy. Have your plants tell you when they're ready for less water :) If you pull the rug out from under them they are bound to fall!

I'm new to this forum BTW, I am a member at Pacific Bulb Society and International Bulb Society, my favorites are Hippeastrum Species, I don't much care for hybrids..

Josh

hi josh:) are you a member of the hippeastrum species group on yahoo?

Yep Yep :) I haven't ever posted but I'm there :)

Since mine are all in the ground with few exceptions it's gonna be pretty hard to follow that stupid advise. I take what's published locally as gardening advise with a shaker of salt. This is the same "expert" that tells us to plant hostas, foxgloves, bearded iris and other plants that hate heat and humidity. They also published a big article on LILACS a few years ago. Like those will ever grow here.
Tally HO!

Your Hippies will show signs if they are ready for dormancy. Usually new leaf growth would slow down or stop. Or start to shed it's leaves (yellowing then drying out) The evergreen Hippies will stay in a "suspended" state with leaves but no new growth. At this state, it is but right to lessen watering but not totally stopping UNLESS you will "force" (lift/cut leaves/store cool)the bulb and it is best that it is in a dry state to avoid rotting.

Remember that there are spring, summer and fall/cool growers. You would not want to withold water on an actively growing Hippie that are just leafing out, rebuilding their strength and bulb size.

My yellows have just woken up and are blooming here in my growing conditions. I let them grow and leaf out even in winter (indoors) as long as they want to. They have been resting for 4-5 months and wait for warm weather (80Fs)before they wake up.
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The papilios are just now waking up from their "summer snooze". From now till they bloom in fall/winter/spring, I also let them grow/leaf out as much as they want. Witholding water on these varieties/species now would surely result in poorer performance next season.

Withholding water now in this summer heat would surely dry up your bulbs too much. Unless you will lift them up and store at 50-55F for 8 weeks. Make sure that these bulbs that you would force are healthy and have leafed out AT LEAST 8 leaves. If not, forcing them will not guarantee you any blooms. It is NOT withholding water that makes a bulb bloom. It is the cool period that makes the flower embryo inside the bulb (if there is any) further develop and elongate. Thus the scape come out (forced) once you plant them in warmer temps after the cool storage.

ARIF...YOU CAN DO IT!!! Remember to pick a healthy bulb that has leafed out at least 8 leaves. The more leaves the better and preferably one that has grown it's youngest leaf to almost mature size (prevent crown rot). Withhold water for like 2-3 weeks, uplift, cut off all leaves, dry and store in fridge (50-55F) for 8 weeks, plant and wait. OR, uplift, cut off leaves and some roots, dry (air dry if possible), store and plant. Application of fungicide before doing this would also help a lot in preventing fungus from overwintering with your bulbs. Too long storage specially under "not ideal" temps and humidity would also result in bulb shrinkage and flower embryos inside the bulb drying out.

My mother in the Philippines (hot and tropical with coolest temps in the 80Fs)has been doing this and has been having great sucess. She now forces her Hippie bulbs and gets flowers when she wants them. This is one of her forced Hippie bulbs that she took a picture of and showed me. Her Hippies continously grow over there as they don't have fall or winter. She stores her bulbs in her fridge at exactly 8 weeks. She just turned 77 years old last June and is still so very willing to learn new tricks and lovin it! If she can do it so can you and others!
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Maria, I LOVE the yellow, do you have any seed or bulbettes, ANYTHING of that yellow?

Josh

what is the name of that yellow?

I think it's Germa possibly? Some form of Parodii?

Maria,
Thank you for the advice.
I have tried it thrice. I think my problem is, dehydration in the frig and the fact that I plant them out side.
The low night temperature keeps them dormant and they tend to awake along with others.
This year I will again try, but plant them in pots and keep them in a green house.

Maria,
If that is Germa (and it looks like mine so I'm guessing it is) I think it's just lovely. Mine just finished blooming, but when it was blooming in the kitchen, I always stopped to admire its simple beauty! I thought it had selfed, but the pod aborted with 5 scarred seeds inside. So...guess it will have to be a pollen parent. I did save pollen!

My bulb arrived with many potential offsets forming on the outside of the bulb. So far, 5 have sprouted, so I should probably move the little family to a larger pot where they can get bigger. This was a surprise bulb for me last year from Royal Colors, and it's amazing!
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Thanks for sharing your lovely photo.
Kristi

That yellow is Golden Village. It's trumpet flowers are not as long as Germa's and stays "upright looking" right from the buds emerge from the spathe until the flower fades. Germa's flowers would open semi-upright and then go horizontal.

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It is very fertile and a performer regularly blooming with no problems for 2 seasons now. It is a true yellow that keeps it's color. A lot of my other yellows here are weaker and finicky (except Germa). It is one of my favorites and breeders.

GV with Zombie
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Enjoy the rest of the summer!