Blayz,

My potted hippeastrum have been growing in a peat/perlite/vermiculite mixture for many, many years, and I have never had this problem. Of course, mine go outside for about 8-9 months of the year. Outside, they are watered primarily by rain (sometimes a LOT) and our rain is on the acidic side. During recent droughts, they have been watered via a sprinkler system using well water.

They also grow in gardens (in the ground) here, and our soil is naturally acidic.

My feeling is that hippeastrum are not very picky about PH. I say that because they don't seem to mind our acidic soil AND my H. X Johnsonii came from a ranch in Texas where the soil is just the opposite - very alkaline!

When I bring my plants into protective areas (greenhouse or patio), I water them very little. When I do water them, I use water from my well pump as opposed to city water. The well water is also on the acidic side.

I'm not at all sure what the problem may be, but my opinion is that it is not likely to be soil acidity due to peat breakdown.

Does that help?

Blayz...Constant fertilizing of your potted plants can cause fertilizer build-up in the potting soil. Do you leach your plants until the red color goes away? This could be a problem there. To prevent/control/balance acidity in my potting medium, I throw in some horticultural charcoal in my potting mix. It "sweetens the soil" as they say. I learned to do both the leaching and the charcoal thing when I used to grow African Violets that use peat based potting soil too.

Thanks, Maria, for reminding me about the charcoal...

The soiless mix that I have been using for the last few years does have a very little bit of charcoal chips in it, not much, just a little!

I think the solution is simple, Blayz... it's the medium you're using! And I say this because of what I have learned here in the forum, coupled with good old-fashioned common sense. I don't know the technical terms, nor do I have any botany schooling... but I do know that pot culture is way different than garden culture!

In nature, out in the garden, there is a lovely balance of good and bad microbes and bugs and bacterias and all kinds of other little microscopic critters that keep each other in check... and in turn, keep plants growing nice and healthy... things decompose, and other things feed on the decomposition, and the world goes round and round...

In a container situation, indoors, we typically use bagged potting soil or bagged peat, which is supposedly sterile... we plant our bulbs in this stuff and we don't even think about the fact that peat and potting soil or anything organic is continually decomposing... but indoors, in pots, we don't have that nice balance of good and bad bacterias and molds and bugs and microbes... we just have decomp! There are no worms or other good creatures helping keep things nicely balanced! And so, the bad stuff increases and rot happens!

I gotta tell ya... since I switched to a medium that doesn't break down as quickly as peat or potting soil, I've had nice healthy root systems and healthy looking plants! Coco coir takes a very, very long time to break down... but I don't like the way it is alone, so I add vermiculite to make it "feel" a bit better... coco coir has no nutrients, so I have to feed a lot, but bulbs are heavy feeders anyway...

Potting soil or peat may be fine for those who can manage to water at the perfect time every time, but I tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to watering, so the coco coir works better for me!

I think you have to take into consideration your growing environment, and how you care for your plants, too...

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think bulbs are just too prone to rot from excess moisture and soil decomp to grow them in something that may hold onto that moisture too long, or may be decomposing at a fast rate...

Nature is balanced, and it's almost impossible to re-create that balance in a pot.

The potting soil/mix and your watering/fertilizing practices are closely related that you have to adjust both accordingly to come up with what would be good/better/best for your plant's requirement under your growing conditions.

Blayz...Start with measuring your soil ph if you can. If not, the rule I follow in potting soil is..."Red water is bad. Time to repot!"

Hope that helps.

Blayz,
If I had problems with peat, I'd simply stop using it. It is obviously a disadvantageous potting material for you, since the flowers like it first, then die... Nothing justifies the death, not even the remarkable growth in the beginning. That is my 2 cents.

Blayz, I wonder if the peat is breaking down and the roots are not being aerated properly. There is an interesting and educational thread in the container gardening forum which I found helpful:

Here is a link that might be useful: Al's thread on aeration in containers

Ok, so I'll not worry about PH then...clearly the culprit is the peat and my growing practices. yes I do flush out periodically, and I have also observed the red water principle. I have noticed however that coir always yields water that is slightly yellowish, no matter how much I flush it out. even high grade stuff seems to do this...presumably this is normal?

Thanks for that link salpal! It was most enlightening indeed!