I wouldn't dig them until the weather goes down to 40F nightly or until so much water falls that I'd be worried that the bulbs rot. I'd let them gather energy as long as they can. Then lift them, wash them off, cut off the leaves, leave all the roots on and let them dry before placing them in a safe, dark, cold, dry place for that 6-8 weeks rest period.
Check them periodically if they are bringing scape. The ones that do need to be planted.
That is all. Kind of simple. It is fun tending for Amaryllis. (Un)fortunately, they are pretty simple creatures with simple needs.
(You are not preparing your bulbs for October sale, so you don't have to remove them now. Growers remove them now, so they could deliver the bulbs bloom-ready around October 10th.) You can leave them as long as you want and feel safe. If you want them to bloom for you around Christmas, just deduct the 2-3-4 weeks development (depending your experiences) and 8 weeks rest period from Christmas backward, and then you know when you want to unearth and put your bulbs to sleep. But you always want to take your weather conditions into consideration.

Soultan, I have a question.

All of my Hippeastrum are in pots, and I generally don't take the bulbs out of the pots during dormancy - I just repot when the bulb size demands it (after blooming, when the leaves start growing), and the years that I don't repot, I replace the top third of the soil with fresh.

When I stop watering in the fall, I don't cut the foliage off - I just let it dry up on its own, and then remove it. My understanding has been that this will allow the most possible of the sugars and other nutrients/minerals that are in the leaves to move back into the bulb. Am I mistaken about this, and/or is there some real disadvantage to leaving the foliage on until it dries up naturally?

Thanks for your insight on this.

- Steve

I'm no expert, but logic tells me that if the leaves are still green, they're still working. I let them turn brown and dry out on their own before I cut them off.

But then, I don't dig or unpot them and put them to "rest" either. I keep them in my east window and let Mother Nature do Her thing.

Greenguy...I do the same exact thing as you do and my amaryllises liked it. I have read and believe about leaving the leaves on until it dries up so as nutrients would go back to the bulb. Cutting off of the leaves is just a 'practical' thing to do if you would lift/unpot the bulbs to store at a particular time (forcing). Amaryllis bulb growers in Holland are doing this right now...harvesting. South African growers harvested their bulbs April/May. They have to cut the green leaves and roots and cannot wait for the leaves to dry up. These bulbs needs time to dry and cooled before they are realeased to the market to ensure that it will bloom with the customers by Dec. or Jan.

greenguy1,
I would let my bulbs dry out by themselves as well, but in California, the rains come right at the time when I'd want them to dry out, and since they are planted out, I have no way of cutting this excess water off. So I just unearth them and cut off the green leaves. I don't think you are doin anything wrong, and if I had them in pots, I'd do the same. Except that I'd probably not have place for all the pots to sit in a dark, colder place, so I would not be able to let them dry out... I have an extensive collection, so the best thing for me is to cut off the green leaves and put the bulbs to sleep in the safe refridgerator.
If I could and would keep them in pots, I'd probably let them say green as long as they want. I only force them because I have to dig them anyway, and this way I can nicely time their flowering period completely throughout the year. It will probably change when my greenhouse patio will be built this coming fall.

Ooh! You're putting in a greenhouse? How wonderful! I've always wanted one attached to my house, kind of like a sunroom, but more for the plants! Just think of the plant possibilities!

It is kind of a sun room. It will be a glass covered patio in front of my room. The first thing people as when they see the plans what that is. They love the idea and the look. At least, this is not occupiable space, so there is no extra tax on it and my flowers, (the babies and the cybister varieties) can winter through there.

Your plants are sure to love it! I can only dream of someday adding a room like that...

You know, when you build a house, everybody has to be happy about it... I needed it for my plants, and the house undoubtably looks better with the curved glass patio cover.

Not to mention boosting the value of the home... and increasing the number and type of plant materials that could be grown... at least for me, that enclosure would allow more tropical varieties and a longer growing season.

It will be a natural extention of my room. In fact, I will have two huge movable wall pieces that would separate it from the room itself, so when it is not crowded with flowers, I can open up the patio and just use it as part of my office. It will be quite interesting. I opted putting my room on top of the garage, so I could do this kind of an enclosure.

I read the postings and still need a bit of advise. I acquired my amaryllas when I bought my house in sw georgia, a semicoastal area, 7 years ago. The amaryllis were in the ground and crowded. I have divided them a couple times and just leave them in the ground year round. They are producing plenty of blooms in April/May. When is the best time to divide and move my Amaryllas?

If I want to force a few blooms for Christmas, dig them up, cut off leaves, dry them out (how long does this take?), store for 6-8 weeks, then plant in pot? How long till it grows and blooms?

Thanks for helping a beginner.

I dig and divide my amaryllis bulbs in the fall. I only remove side bulbs though if they are have bloomed already, so they have great root system.

I don't know what kind of amaryllis you have in there and if it is suitable for forcing. Why don't you try it with a big, healthy bulb? Drying takes 1-2-3 days for me. You don't have ty dry them out till they are hard as a rock. :o) Just dry the surface, especially if you washed your bulb after lifting it. Blooming time is also different by variety. That is why I am saying, try it with one bulb this year, and you can count on your experiences for next year. Most of the bulbs should flower within a month of planting it in a pot. But it may take two months for some of them. It is really a gamble until you know the specifics of your variety.

You may not believe this because it is so basic, but pull a couple of bulbs out of the ground today, shake the dirt off, and lay them on top of the ground WITHOUT cutting
off the leaves for 4 to 6 weeks then replant in a pot of at least half sand for drainage(in a pot because you are in a cooler climate - in Florida we can put them back in the ground). In about 5 more weeks (some varieties will take shorter or longer) they will bloom. When they do and you have more confidence in my new techniques and your growing abilities, email me for a copy of Consecutive Blooming and bloom timing. Bill Warren amstgrp@yahoo.com

Thanks, Bill. Yours was the only response that actually showed up in my email, and by the time I figured out that I wasn't getting any responses, and gone to the forum to see what people were saying, I'd already done just what you suggest--fortunately.

I've rebloomed amaryllis successively but haphazardly for many years, and thought this year I'd try to give my bulbs the best possible start for their next flourish, hence the in-ground planting. I have usually put them in a sheltered spot outside where they are subject to varmints and irregular attention to watering by me and nature. So I never know when to expect them to bloom, but it's usually later than I hope. Thus the early start at digging this year. Thanks for the advice, and I'll email you separately for your publication!

I put them to sleep at the end of September last year, and I got nice blooms for Christmas.

My amaryllis are outside and have green leaves. can i dig them up and put them in pots so they can bloom for Christmas?