I've always planted them with a 1/3 of the bulb showing. Mine are slower this year to go too. I've also got 3 Apple Blossums planted in a pot that I bought at Lowes for about $6 a peice. Last year I had Red Lions, and they were quick to take off. I figure, at this rate, they may bloom right around Christmas, and that's fine with me. :)

Most on the list might advise that you plant the bulb so that 2/3 is above the soil and 1/3 below. Very attractive that way too when the bulb is clean. Not so much chance for holding water in layers, which invites rot.

The soil that they are in is probably crummy too....you want to do your best to encourage drainage!

Kristi

Yep, it's your basic potting mix with perlite or vermiculite, I can't tell which it is. I've unearthed the top 2/3s of each bulb. The good news is that there are drainage holes in the interior pots and the bulbs aren't rotten, but they would have been before long, I think. I just potted up a bare root Red Lion, too, with the bottom third of the bulb in cocopeat. I know these aren't ideal planting mediums and I will get some better mix for them after the holidays. Thanks for your quick responses, kentstar and Kristi, I appreciate it!
Barb

I would get rid of the moss and uncover a bit more of the bulbs... once they are finished blooming, I would re-pot them.

Get them out of that silty, decomposing mess called potting soil, and re-pot them into a more aerated, porous, inorganic medium that will allow for better, faster drainage, and will allow the roots to breathe!

The number one killer of potted plants is improper watering, and the biggest problem for hippeastrum bulbs is rot and fungal issues due to poor potting soil that stays too wet for too long.

If you look around the forum here, and do a bit of reading, you'll find that many of us are abandoning regular potting soils in favor of a more orchid/bonsai-like approach to mediums for our container grown plants.

This is the medium I use... I mix it myself.
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It contains small pine bark pieces, perlite, and crushed granite chips... it's mainly inorganic and will not decompose quickly, which would cause collapsing of the soil and suffocating of the roots. With this type of medium, I have complete control over moisture and fertilizer levels.

A garden environment and a container environment are completely different. There is a microscopic world of living things in a garden that help aerate the soil and keep everything balanced. These same living things are not contained within a pot, so it's up to us to make sure the drainage and aeration/porosity are healthy for the plants.

I have a tendency to preach about mediums, but I have lost several bulbs and many other plants to soil collapse and suffocation of roots, to over watering and poor drainage. It has taken me quite a while and quite a bit of research, but I've finally found a medium that gives me healthy roots... and that's where healthy plants begin.

There's a wealth of excellent information on mediums here in this forum, and also over at the Container Gardening Forum, here on GardenWeb. If you do a bit of reading, you can find the information explaining why a more inorganic approach to container soils works better, recipes to mix your own mediums, all the sources you need for ingredients, and how to have happy and healthy plants.

Happy Gardening!

I second what Jodik advices. I'm definitely having better results and less complications usig a medium that provides more aeration and doesn't collapse so soon. I'm not ready yet to go completely inorganic (mainly due to not having all the "ingredients") but maybe i will :-) in the future.

You will eventually find everything you're looking for, Lourdes... it might take a little time, but you'll find it all. It took me a long time to locate all the ingredients I wanted to use, but I found them. I just kept reading the forums, and searching for items every time I went shopping.

Who knew that reptile bedding was 100% fir bark? Or that poultry grit was actually granite chips? Not me! But my patience and persistence paid off, and I now have what is the perfect medium for my indoor potted plants!

Jodik and holantina, Thanks! I did remove the moss and enough soil so the top 2/3rds of the bulbs are exposed. The bulbs were on the verge of getting spongy and have dried out considerably since yesterday, no rot. I did review your medium mix on the earlier thread and have a list of things to pick up. That was very helpful. I have horses and visit the feed store regularly, so I should be able to get the granite chips there. I have either perlite or vermiculite left over from my orchid planting, so I just need some reptile bedding and I'm good to go. I'm very glad to find you folks here, thanks for the help!
Barb

I bought some too, couldn't resist all those buds. I took off the moss and then enough of the bulbs was out to make me happy. I'll plant them in the garden when they quit blooming. Our Walmart won't water them so they'll dry out nicely. The little plastic overpot will actually keep them from getting tooo dry on the front porch.
You can also buy fir mulch and then "chip" it, small amounts can be done in a blender or a wood chipper for large amounts. Cheaper than reptile bedding! And in the south, chicken scratch is more likely oyster shells then granite.
Tally HO!

There are a couple of considerations when choosing ingredients for a porous medium... you want to make sure that the moisture retention will match what you need in your climate. I would recommend turface instead of granite chips... turface retains some moisture, while granite does not.

It's true... the reptile bedding is a bit expensive, but I like it because it's ready to go right out of the bag. No screening for size or dust is necessary.

Vermiculite will hold more moisture than perlite, but what you could do is use all the mentioned ingredients in amounts that work for your environment.

You could use about 1/3 fir/pine bark, and perhaps a mix of perlite, vermiculite, and granite chips... or turface.

Turface is marketed under the name All-Sport, I believe. A John Deere dealership should be able to help you out, from what I've read.

The important thing is to keep the particles relatively the same size. You are trying to create tiny air pockets so that there will be a good exchange of oxygen and gases, to and from the roots, every time you water well. Because of the way water and soil react when you water a plant, particle size is important so you get even watering and drainage.

There are other products out there that work, too... Hydroton, which is a hydroponic product made from small balls of baked clay, I believe. A pre-mixed bonsai medium could be another option, although they tend to be rather expensive, and there's a lot of argument within the bonsai community as to what type of medium and ingredients work best... sort of like our dilemma. :-)

The hotter and more arid your climate, the more water retention you're going to want... so, in some cases, a regular high quality potting mix might be the way to go.

I don't want to tell you what to use... I just want to let you know that there are other, healthier options for growing bulbs... and since hippeastrum bulbs don't respond well to over watering or wet conditions, it makes sense to explore all these other options.

At the end of the day, you're trying to create a healthy, aerated, fast draining, well draining, inorganic medium that will not decompose quickly. Decomposing soil will collapse and cause a plant's roots to suffocate.

I think if you visit the Container Gardening Forum and do some reading, you'll see that a lot of serious gardeners are exploring better ways to grow container plants. The medium is probably the number one area where the retail gardening industry is failing its customers. But then, repeat customers are what they want, so if your plants die, you'll come back to buy more plants.

In any case... I feel it necessary to share what I have learned, in the hopes that others will be successful growing their bulbs, and can avoid some of the disappointment I went through.

Happy Gardening!

Several years ago, I saw an Apple Blossom which was trying to bloom in the box. I felt sorry for it and bought it(on sale). I took it home and buried it next to the house foundation in partial sun on the east side. Just left the pitiful little flower stalk sticking out. It has bloomed every year since and has an offset which should be big enought to bloom this year.