Hello
I try and treat all of my bulbs the same, Ive not had many problems so-far.
I start the majority of bulbs off in smaller pots, if Ive bought them as 'dry' bulbs, I tend to soak the roots for a while, and then pot them up usually with a little bottom heat. Once I can see the smaller pot is full of plump white roots, I pot onto a 2-3 Ltr pot (15cm wide), this time of the year I try and feed as much as I can to firm the bulbs up as much as possible ready for the winter. I always try and check the pots at least once a week, but with my current collection numbering at approx 1000 pots, some get missed.
If for any reason the roots are looking a bit dry or a bit black then I know there is a problem, so I unpot and replenish the soil. If the compost is too dry or too wet, then I will cut the roots by about half until Im happy the roots are re-growing.
I'm aiming for all of the bulbs to be in deep pots in a few years time, or if the bulb is particulary vigorous, I usually plant it straight into a 25Ltr pot.
At either the beginning of the year or at the end, I try and renew the top couple of inches of soil. That way I can check the sides and base of the bulb for signs of rot and signs of root mealy bug. Although since Ive been drenching with garlic extract, I dont seem to have a problem with mealy bug.
I hope that helps
Andy

I am SO far behind in re-potting my bulbs... I've got several that have outgrown their current homes, and need upgrades... I've also got seedlings that need to be re-potted before coming indoors for the winter!

My oldest bulb is a Minerva... I've had her for about 8 years, which makes her around 10 years old, or older, since I bought her as a fairly large adult. I've only re-potted her 3 times in all those years, but I do top-dress her pot every year with fresh soil. I just re-potted her last fall, and she was pretty pot-bound! She currently resides in a 12 inch pot, along with her baby. Her baby is getting quite large, and I think I need to re-pot the two again. I really don't want to separate them... is there any reason why they should be split up? Or do you think it's fine to allow bulbs to colonize in pots? What will happen to the mother bulb eventually?

Most of the bulbs that I did re-pot this year had nice roots... a couple had some rotted roots, and those were put in smaller pots because they hadn't grown well.

The only bulbs I took outdoors this year were a pot of Sprekelia bulbs, and a pot of Lycoris radiata. I lost one of the Sprekelia bulbs due to too much rain... when I took them out of their pot, the dying bulb had completely rotten roots, a rotten basal plate, and the rot had just begun to infect the lower portion of the bulb, itself. There was an abundance of small pill-bug looking insects in the pot, but I'm not sure if they were eating healthy growth or rotting plant and root material. The other bulbs in the pot were very healthy and had beautiful root systems. I washed them off and put them in smaller pots with fresh soil. They are currently indoors, under lights. The Lycoris appear to be growing fine, and will be sprayed for bugs, then brought indoors.

Like Andy, I treat most of my bulbs the same. My regimen includes checking each pot every couple of days to see if it needs watering, watering those that require it and leaving those that don't until next check... I fertilize with a semi-weak solution of Miracle-Gro liquid about every other time I water... I leach the pots about every couple of months, just to make sure excess salts aren't building up... and, I keep the pots free of dead leaves and excess layers of dead bulb tissue. I also top-dress about once a year.

I could plant my bulbs outdoors every spring, and then lift them as the weather gets cool in late summer, but I'm too paranoid of insect damage and poor weather, not to mention all the extra work it would be! I'm sure it would healthier for the bulbs, especially for their root systems, but unless I move to a warmer climate, my bulbs will be container grown.

Since this is only my second autumn with many of these bulbs, and they're grown indoors in slightly less than ideal conditions, I can only comment on what I've learned and observed so far. From what I've experienced thus far, Hippeastrums, at least most of the hybrids, are rather adaptable and fairly resilient. Even though improper culture may result in missed blooms, the bulbs seem to grow just fine when neglected somewhat. Some varieties rest while others grow, and the only thing they really can't stand is being over-watered!

The healthiest root systems I have are on bulbs that are planted in a very loose medium. The medium is almost a bonsai type of mixture, containing perlite, pine bark fines and turface. It drains almost immediately upon watering, and though I find I must water more often, I find that the bulbs grow better, have much healthier roots, and look better and happier! I'd like to switch all of my bulbs to this mix, and will do so when I finally get all the ingredients together to make a large batch.

When the roots are healthy, the plant is healthy... in my short experience, I have found that a loose, well-draining mix coupled with watering only when the medium is dry, makes for healthier roots. I have bulbs of all different sizes in pots of all different sizes, some being rather pot-bound... but they're all growing well, and appear to be happy... I think it's the medium and the watering that account for decent roots.

The Papillio I mentioned above,with 16 bulb lets. some of the bulb lets also have their own bulblets. I intend to keep them in this planter until it is over crowded.

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ARIF

That's a nice grouping! None of my Papilios have babies yet, but several other varieties do. Lovely Garden was purchased as a klister, but it's grown new babies, as well... Germa has a couple of babies... and several other varieties have at least one, some have more.

My large Minerva only has one baby, but it's almost as large as the mother bulb! They almost look like twins!

Good information and observations ARIF. Only one note about my experience with papilio is that the older the bulbs get, the fewer the offsets. Despite being in larger pots. And, some cultivars just don't seem to produce offsets at all.

And some cultivars just love to give out offsets. Here's an example. 19 month old seedlings in 3" pots following the footsteps of one of it's parents...Supreme Garden.

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I have observed though that Papilio and it's decendants like Exotic Star and Jungle Star gives out lots of roots thus the need for bigger pot than what the regular varieties would need.

Sonatinis will stay healthy and content in a 6"pot.
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My Pap in the ground is behaving exectly the same way.
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ARIF

WOW look at all them babies. Maria is right about certain plants spitting out more babies and even babies producing babies. My Lil Pinkie from Lora and my Ms Ethel from Radio have a habit of producing more babies when the plants are just juvenile themselves! I also have a NOID red and a NOID orange that do the same. I can empty all the babies from the pot and a month later, there's 3-5 more sprouts. These plants must have Rabbit genes! lol

Last fall, I purchased a Papilio bulb from a seller on Ebay, and the seller included two young red and white flowered noid bulbs. I've kept them together, in the same pot, and they've grown by leaps and bounds, and produced several babies! The pot is getting full, actually, and I think these may be my most prolific bulbs for giving offsets! The two original bulbs haven't bloomed yet, but I think by next spring they'll be mature enough. I wonder if the noid/mutt bulbs are more giving because they're mixed varieties? I don't have a clue, but it seems like noids give quite generously in the baby department!

Exposure has produced two large babies... and Lovely Garden, of course, just keeps giving and giving!

As far as roots go, I have to say that I think it's more the medium that gives healthy roots, and not so much the size of the pot... although, it does help to keep potting up as needed, giving the roots the room they need to grow.