Hi Marcia,

I am not sure why you havenÂt had luck with amarylis. I usually let mine grow outdoors for the summer, get killed by frost (the top part) and bring the bulb indoors and store in a dark place. Then I bring out a couple of months later and the new growth begins with a bloom. Some years the bloom has been dismal (only one ÂstalkÂ), other years better.

This year, however, I took the lazy way out and just kept my amarylis on the windowsill all summer. It still has leaves. My MomÂs friend does it this way and apparently herÂs still does bloom but weÂll see I guess. Regardless I can never get it timed to bloom for Christmas, more like February.

Regarding Christmas cactus, I have lived in a few different places through the years and sort of experimented on getting it to bloom. As you know, they bloom when they sense the daylength getting shorter.

I had one in the spare bedroom that wasnÂt used regularly (no lights on at night) and it bloomed very well.

That room became the Âcomputer room with lights on sometimes at night and they only bloomed a bit, more on the side of the plant that faces the window.

Then the room became used even more, lights left on at night, etc and now they donÂt bloom at all.

When I lived in my apartment I had a Christmas cactus in my living room and it never bloomed due to the artificial light at night. It was on a table by a lamp. I then put my cactus on the windowsill in the same room where it received afternoon sun. It then started to bloom, despite receiving some (less intense though) artificial light at night. My theory is that by the plant receiving direct sun, it was able to better sense the daylight length getting shorter and then responded by blooming. I found that interesting because previously I thought they would only bloom if they were kept in total darkness. In fact even on the windowsill in my apartment it got a bit of light from the street lights.

Anyways, I am embarrassed that my Christmas cactus is scraggly and poor looking. Really need transplanting and hopefully it will revive it.

Glen

Thanks, Glen. The amaryllis didn't get killed by frost, so perhaps that's one drawback. They were all in a pot with some coleus that i couldn't bear to let die, so a friend took it and removed the amaryllis bulbs to give back to me. Next year i'll leave them in a pot by themselves and let the frost get them. Of course, it remains to be seen what the other two amaryllis do, so my ideas may change.

As for the Christmas cactus, it was outside for most of the summer too, but in its own container. Now it's in the porch in a west window and recieves very little artificial light. Last year it got buds on it, but when i brought it upstairs, that finished it - just those few little buds, no blooms. I'll leave it there longer this year. Maybe swear at it a bit! :)

Ohhhhhhh NO NO NO.....Marcia..where are your dancing shoes? You just must figure out the right dance for each plant. Never swear at them :O..the poor little things might cower and wither a way ..instead of blooming. :-))

Haven't tried overwinter amaryllis yet....but was told to wait till it finished blooming then cut the flower stauk to 2 inches.....at that time start fertilizing till the leaves die back. Then remove from dirt and store dry or in peat till next fall. So this is what I plan on doing with my 3.

As for the Xmas cactus....I think you just have to neglect them....forget you have them.....and then remember a couple of times a year. haha...Usually I water just in time so they don't keel over. They usually start blooming for me a couple weeks before Xmas. This year however...I remembered them a little late....so I suspect they won't bloom or won't bloom till Feb. Mentioned not long ago..about moving them to the window sill. At watering time...they also get fertilized with schultze african violet drops.

Doin the amaryllis dance...they have just started to show some sort of growth/movement. Hopinging I'm not disapointed with these 3.

Sierra

I haven't had a lot of success with amaryllis..sort of hit and miss, so I can't give you any tips. After doing lots and lots of reading (with all the experts saying how easy it is), I've tried putting it outside for the summer, and I've tried letting it grow all season. I end up with lots of leaves, but not always a flower. I'm just not great with plants that need fussing, I guess.

My Christmas cactus...that's another story. I had three reliable plants--I'm now down to two. When one got a bad case of thrips, I decided it was too much work to get rid of those pests, so out it went before it could infect the others. One of the remaining plants is blooming its head off at the moment. The other is starting to get buds. Sierra is right about the neglect. The one that is blooming usually wilted before I remembered to water it. The other one was never as desperate for water.

Some varieties must be less sensitive to changes in light. Mine grow, year round, under artificial lights. There is a window in the room, so perhaps they sense a change in the length of early morning daylight. The lights don't come on until closer to noon.

Actually for me, amaryllis bulbs are the easiest to get to bloom. I grow mine in small containers(apparently they like to be root-bound) with the top third of the bulb out of the soil. They sit in my south facing window all winter and spring. By the first part of June, I quit watering and let them totally dry out, then put them in the cold room for the summer. Around halloween is when I take them out, clean them off and re-plant them. After they're done flowering(usually around christmas), I cut off the stalk and keep them well fertilized til their dormant period. I do believe that some varieties are longer lived than others, as some that I've tried have only bloomed for 2 or 3 years and the bulb continued to get smaller each year, but other varieties I've had already for 5 or 6 years and they still bloom reliably. So don't give up on them Marcia!

As for christmas cactus, other than the shorter daylight hours that's already been mentioned, another tip I've heard is that when they've set their flower buds, they really resent being moved and will drop their buds if this happens.

Laurie

I gotta dance for amaryllis too? I did get the Winter Sowing dance down pat - maybe it'll work for the amaryllis! :> If neglect is what works for Christmas cactus, mine should be a real show-stopper! LOL Obviously, that doesn't work for me! But there's a few weeks left till Christmas (~shudder~), so it may surprise me yet.

Amaryllis don't rebloom for me either. They do however grow leaves until my dog eats them. (I know, I'm sure they're poisonous, he's been eating poison plants for almost 3 years and has not died...)

My Christmas cactus blooms in January or Feb. Oh well better than not at all...

Hmmmmm should I have said over summering instead of over wintering the amaryllis?.

Oh ya...you need to dance for all your plants....it keep ya in really good shape too. Well maybe you have to dance on the table to get your xmas cactus to bloom haha. If nothing works tell her the story of the xmas cactus that landed in the compost pile.....this usually works. ;0)

I pinched off a couple of ends on one of mine and just stuck them in the dirt....they are growing already. They rooted really fast.

Which reminds me...I should go water them now. :)

Sierra

If i danced on the table, the table wouldn't be in very great shape.... :>

haha

Marcia: I have grown Xmas cactus for 30 years and I am no expert but I have learned two new things in the past 2 years quite by chance. First, I bought a HUGE Xmas cactus from a friend for my sisÂs 40th and it was totally in bloom with hundreds of other blossoms just starting. I was so dismayed because all my other experiences told me that I would lose these blossoms as soon as I moved the plant and I wanted my sister to enjoy this beautiful, awesome plant (and have it for years to come). My friend told me that if we mark the front of the plant and place it EXACTLY in the same direction on her fireplace floor, that none of the blossoms should drop off. Tongue in cheek, I doubted it but we did place a marker in the front of the huge pot. At her home we placed it exactly in the same direction as it was originally facing due to the marker. Surprise! One month later her cactus was still in bloom! This does work! Also, I obtained some Xmas cactus from a yard sale here in SK about the middle of Sept/05. The lady selling the plants had them outdoors next to a wall and had left them outside in the near 0 C. evenings. They did not get touched by frost, but they were in sad condition. One of the cactus had two to three segments at the tip that were completely purple (much like my tomato transplants when they are too cold) and the plant looked "shrivelled" but I am a sucker for ailing plants so I brought them indoors to just bring them back to life, I expected nothing more. To my surprise, the cactus in the worst shape is still blooming its head off! At the same time, I left my over-protected, overly spoiled Xmas cactus of 5 years in a room where I accidentally left the windows open for 3 days and the temperature in there was pretty cool indeed! However, it did not reach 0 C. Again, this cactus has been blooming profusely despite every effort on my part to get it to bloom in the past (i.e.: putting it in a closet for the night for a month (no light), quarter-strength fertilizer, having it root bound, etc.). I am speculating that the cold temperatures shocked it into bloom. I have read that when a plant "thinks" it is going to die it does everything in its power to produce seed so that it will live on through seed production. The other two cactus that I have are still not blooming, and yes, they were not subjected to any stress this fall.

Two plants close to my heart! For years, I had no luck getting amaryllis to rebloom either. Now, I consistently -- probably 90% of the time -- get reblooms, and have gradually accumulated about a dozen bulbs in different colors. I stagger their start times so I have flowers for most of the winter.

After they bloom, I cut off the flower stalk, stick the plants in a sunny window, and continue to water and fertilize until the weather gets warm enough to plant them outside. Then I just plant them here and there around the flower bed; the strappy leaves are attractive. Like Glen, I let them grow until the leaves are killed by the first frost; then I dig them up, let them dry for a day or two, and bury them in a bucket of vermiculite. In early November, I root around and find one that has started to push out a flower stalk, pot it up, and start the whole process all over. Every couple of weeks I pot another.

As for the Christmas cactus, mine are real treasures! They (I have one huge traditional deep pink and one smaller white, just flushed with pink edges) are actually Thanksgiving cactuses, because they are always in full bloom then, and then continue to bloom more lightly for months afterwards. Both are in full sun in a south window, in a room that rarely gets artificial light after about 9 at night -- I understand it is the light cycle that triggers the bloom. Maybe our dramatically shortened fall days here in Alaska help get them going. I water them once a week, with a diluted fertilizer; they are in cactus soil that dries out quickly, so the dirt is dry to the touch before they're watered. Wonderful plants!

Hi all,

I, too, have both amaryllis and cactus.

I have about 15 pots of amaryllis and they are all colors and sizes. In the summer I put them, pot and all, outside. Most years they all sat under an evergreen tree but this year they spent the summer in the greenhouse. The greenhouse is hotter and I was inside it quite frequently and therefore they were watered and fertilized more often this summer. I am thinking that they may have produced a larger more mature bulb this summer than the years that they were under the evergreen. I have been marking on the tag that is in each amaryllis when it blooms and have been noticing that not every amaryllis blooms each year. Some seem to take 2 years before the bulb seems to be mature enough to once again flower for me. I only repot once every few years and then put them back into the same sized pot. But since I have so many I don't worry if they do not all bloom each year. There was one amaryllis that even thought it would be nice to bloom in the summer so... I had blooms in the greenhouse about the end of July. What a treat! Of course it only bloomed a very short time because of the heat, oh well. Each fall, before they get any frost I bring them inside and put them, pot and all, into my cold storage area where the dahlias, cannas, callas and potatoes, beets and carrots are. Each time I go down into the hole I take off any yellow leaves that they may have. I will bring them upstairs about 6 weeks from now and just start watering them and then see which one wants to bloom this year. It is nice to have flowers blooming in winter in the house.

I also have 2 Christmas cactus. I have one in our north-facing bay window all year round. I do not take it out for the summer and it does not get any cold snap (close to freezing temperatures). It is in full bloom right now. It is an dark "apricot"y color (not a red). It is fertilized and watered just like any other houseplant all year round. The other one is red and is in an east facing window that has an upright juniper in front of it, so it does not get much, if any, direct sun. It is in full bud right now. Normally, in my house, both cactus bloom in November and once again in February. Why, I do not know. But I will accept and enjoy any flower that wants to bloom in here in the wintertime.

Just a note for Northspruce...the bulb not the leaves of the amaryllis is the poisonous part of an amaryllis so...that is why your dog is still living. :)

With all this good advice, my plants should be blooming like crazy this winter! Like Valleyrimgirl, i should just buy a whole bunch of amaryllis and then the odds would be better that some would bloom! LOL

Another thing is that i should be fertilizing both of them more, i think, and at the appropriate times.

And dancing. /act breaks out the tap shoes! :>

Marcia,

No, I did not buy all my amaryllis. My sister-in-law used to give my mother-in-law an amaryllis, the ordinary red one, each fall. Each year the "expired" amaryllis would be thrown out. Finally I just had to ask, if they would allow me to try to "rescue" the amaryllis. So...each year I got the bulb. Now that she is gone I am not getting anymore amaryllis to "rescue". I think I got 7 of them that way.

I have purchased a few amaryllis. I went to the McFayden's clearance sale and purchased 2 Apple Blossom, a Lemon Lime, a Blossom Peacock and a Red Peacock. I have a girlfriend who gave me Roma and Naughtly Lady last summer. One other one is a miniature, which I need to label yet. At the MCC sale I picked up 2 pots full of little bulbs of which none have bloomed yet. As they bloom I will remove them from the others in the pot and label them with the color they are.

If you know someone who buys one each year and then promptly throws it out immediately after blooming...ask to rescue it. They will probably say yes and just give it to you. I wonder.... how many amaryllises are thrown out at nursing homes each year?

Good idea! I can't think of anyone offhand, but if i hear of someone with a bulb, i'll make sure to ask for it. I used to rescue all kinds of things that my mother-in-law threw out after the summer. In fact, i stopped buying container plants for her because she would just kill them or throw them out even if they would have overwintered in the house. Instead, i planted things in the ground for her - a lilac, tulips, lilies, etc. If only i had gotten amaryllis for her!

Although not about Amaryllis re-bloom, I just read an interesting bit in the winter 2006 edition of Canadian Gardening (page 21) about Amaryllis.

It says, "hot news from Dutch growers is that precooled amaryllis varieties (known as dry-flowering) don't require any soil or water to grow."

It goes on to say tuck the bulbs anywhere or arrange them on a table platter, that's all, they grow on their own.

"Dry-flowering is possible with any precooled amarylllis bulb...two especially good cultivars to try are 'Red Lion' and 'Moonlight'." (check packaging or ask if bulbs are pre-cooled)

This reminds me of a time a few years back when I bought a bulb and then promptly forgot about it in a brown paper bag in a cupboard. Several weeks later I came across it and it was indeed growing inside that bag, a little pale but lots of growth with flower stalks pushing thru.

The Dutch growers will expect you to also throw out the amaryllis as soon as it is finished blooming...thereby ensuring that you buy one again next year. Does the article mention just a little water on the bottom of the amaryllis, only for the roots or is it totally dry? You couldn't immerse the bulb in water at all or it would rot but I wonder about a little water for the roots and to give the bulb a little sustanance while it flowers.

It's just like the dutch growers expect you to do with hyacinth bulbs. You can "plant" them in water in the hyacinth vase and let them bloom and then throw them out, so that next year you buy some again. Rather than throwing them out I wait until spring and then plant my already-bloomed-in-the-house hyacinth bulbs on the south side of my house right next to the foundation. I have had blooms again, not that summer, but the following summer.

back on the reblooming of an amaryllis topic....

I stopping watering my amaryllis in Sept, and took it out of the pot and moved it to the garage, near the vent (about 40-50F) in late October. I still have two green, but limpy leaves hanging on. I want to start regrowing it soon. What do I do about those limpy leaves? Do I need to leave it dormant longer, until they fall out, or can I repot it soon?

Thanks,

Kim

No idea here, Kim. I just gave in and started watering the one that was vigourously growing leaves without water. Maybe you can just cut it back and see what happens.

Kim, I believe I read somewhere that the bulb should have a dormancy period of 3-4 months when it's dry. I don't think they need a "cooling" period though as they're a tropical bulb....in Australia they grow naturally and of course there the dormant time is during the dry season. I've always kept mine between 60 and 70 degrees.

Kim, just cut off the floppy leaves. I'm not sure how crucial a full dormancy period is -- most of mine obediently go dormant, but some have not, and they just kick back in and start growing again, with pretty good reblooming results. But you probably should wait as long as you reasonably can before repotting and getting it going again. I start up bulbs as late as February for late March bloom, since we're still a ways from springtime at that point.

good points... I guess I just wanted to start growing something a bit sooner. I will wait until Feb.
However, while cleaning out the fridge, I found some crocus bulbs that I never got a chance to plant this fall. Time to grow some indoor flowers! :)

Thanks all!

Tra laa laa laa la.....My Christmas cactus has buds....tra laa laa laa la. There is one that is quite large..Tra laa laa laa la.....and one that is quite small..tra laa laa laa la.

Waiting now to see if more will appear...tra laa laa laa la. The cat chomped on one of the leaves that didn't have a bud..tra laa laa laa la. The cat got scolded and told never to do that again..tra laa laa laa la. Then she looked at me with "those" big green eyes..tra laa laa laa la..and I had to forgive her..tra laa laa laa la.

Hubby knocked over one of the hyacinths vases..tra laa laa laa la....shattered into a million plus pieces..tra laa laa laa la..the bulb had grown about an inch and a half...tra laa laa laa la..can't find another to replace it now..tra laa laa laa la...so stuck it in a beer glass...tra laa laa laa la...

The roots are long on it....tra laa laa laa la....so it keeps the bulb from hitting the water...tra laa laa laa la..so the bulb won't rot...tra laa laa laa la...but don't think it will be strong enough to support a flower stem...tra laa laa laa la. So still searching for a new vase...tra laa laa laa laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Ok so the song is over now.....but still dancing around the three amaryllis......all three have now grown a flower stem.....and the middle sized one has a second flower stem that has just appeared.

Must be doin' somethin' right...

Sierra :))

Ohhhhhh I just stumbled across the new Amaryllis forum. This should help me grow them properly. :)

Sierra

Thanks for the song, Sierra! I'm almost in the Christmas mood now! LOL

We should rename this thread "Amaryllis Adventures". :)

(Tra la la la la, la la la la!)