Want to try something different this year

8 years ago

I love my amaryllis but I get very disappointed when they flop over from the weight of the blooms. I also do not like to force them in water because the water gets, well, icky. So I generally pot mine in coco coir in pretty vintage planters. But this year, I was thinking about buying some inexpensive glass vases and then putting a plastic tub down in them with the Amayrllis bulb planted in it and maybe putting some moss around the plastic tub/cup so you don't see it through the vase. But the vase would keep the blooms more upright.

Like this below and inside the moss, I would have a small cup/tub where the bulb would be planted.

Featured Answer

jstropic (10a)

8 years ago

In general the bulb will develop a root system sufficient to keep it standing upright. Now, that being said, many of us can't give that amount of space to certain hippeastrum flowers that require large pots and lots of sun for optimization or in the case of newly purchased bulbs, establish roots quickly enough to support the flower stalks. As an example, Aphrodite is a monster size plant with dinner plate size flowers - an amazing flower. I would think that this would be a favorite of florists. However, I need to grow it in 5 gallon pots outside in full sun to see it in all its beauty (the diameter and height of the stalk is as amazing as the flower and It would be difficult for me to get the same results if I grew it inside. It would seem this was solved recently by the developers of Amadeus, which has huge flowers on a smaller plant with much shorter stalks - one of my newer favorites :)

So that being said, an established plant in the proper sized pot with an optimized root system, should not fall over. If it is falling over, we either need to find the reason why, or if we know it is because we don't have enough room or sunlight to optimize the bulb, then we find the next best thing, which is the vase in the case of Popmama. - Jody

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

JL (Zone 6B MA)
8 years ago
Hi - what do you do with the bulbs once the bloom is spent? Do you throw it away? You’ll find that most people on this forum grow the bulbs in soil and they rebloom year over year ....
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes, I rebloom mine. After they bloom, I let them grow in soil throughout the summer. At the end of the summer, I chop the foliage, let them dry, and put them away for a rest period. I just brought the bulbs out of their slumber. I'm just trying to come up with an idea to keep them more upright when they bloom.
Related Professionals
Portsmouth Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Austin Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Stamford Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Janesville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Eugene Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Salina Landscape Contractors · Bartlesville Landscape Contractors · Lansing Landscape Contractors · Scranton Landscape Contractors · Atlanta Architects & Building Designers · Morgan City Architects & Building Designers · Newark Architects & Building Designers · Jamestown Architects & Building Designers · Yuba City Architects & Building Designers · Santa Fe Architects & Building Designers
JL (Zone 6B MA)
8 years ago
Oh that’s interesting. I’m new to this forum and to amaryllis growing and everything I’ve read so far seemed like if you forced the blooms over water, the bulb was too spent to grow or flower again! Obviously you’ve proved otherwise :-)

your idea seems interesting! Let us know if it works as you expected.....
jstropic (10a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Very pretty and would most likely solve your immediate problem but doesn't seem to solve the main issue - lack of a good root system to hold your plant upright. Although toppling plants can be an issue in newly purchased bulbs that lack good roots to hold it up, it is not generally a problem in well established plants (generally ). So a few questions on your newly purchased bulbs

Do you grow in water and after flowering plant in 100% coir?

When, how often and with what do you fertilize?

When and why do you chop off leaves?

A few years ago I tried growing bulbs hydro (water and expanded pellets) it works and the root system it developed for living in that environment was beautiful but the large flowering bulbs grown that way tended to topple. When I moved them into regular soil they suffered some shock and setback. My point is that moving them from a hydro environment to a soil based environment might be setting your bulbs back each year and delaying the development of the root system it needs to stay upright.
everado
8 years ago
It sounds to me like you meant the pot itself falls over because it is top heavy with the flowers, not because the bulb itself tipped due to insufficient roots. Did I read that right? Coir and related things are going to be light, so the glass vase should help weigh it down and lower the center of mass towards the pot. This was a problem for me when I first started growing hippeastrums - I bought the boxed kits and the plastic pot and coir is very prone to tipping over.

Roots grown from soaking plants in water have a different structure than those that were allowed to dry out between waterings. Switching between these two environments causes a lot of shock while the plant adjusts. Also, Hippeastrums grow more roots if allowed to dry out than if they are kept constantly moist. Mine are usually totally root bound when I repot (which is ok, they do fine in small containers) because I let them dry out to stress them a little.