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roxanna7

Amaryllis leaves??

5 years ago

I have a collection of various amaryllis in pots which live out on the deck in summer and get brought indoors for Massachusetts' cold weather. A couple of these are enormous and all of them have very long thick leaves. They are too big for their winter quarters! Can I trim the leaves when I bring them inside to half the length? Or remove the leaves altogether?? I have had them for many years, but the summer growth is over the top this year. (One even had a second bloom stalk which was a surprise.)

Comments (7)

  • 5 years ago

    To get an amaryllis to rebloom, it needs a period of dormancy before you bring it back indoors. Stop watering now, place the pot on its side in a shady, cool area (or out of any direct sun) and allow ALL topgrowth to die back. In late October into November repot, in fresh sol mix and bring inside and treat like a brand new bulb. Should produce new flower stalks in 6-8 weeks, with leaves to follow.

    roxanna7 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
  • 5 years ago

    I live in Colorado zone 5. I also keep mine outside in the Summer, water every day, fertilize weekly. In October, I put them in my unheated garage and stop watering. Most of the leaves will die off (some may survive). I ignore them until December. Then I bring them inside, clean them up, repot and start watering. The ones that are inclined to do so will bloom late December, January, February.

    roxanna7 thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
  • 5 years ago

    I know what you mean @roxanna7 as here is one of mine that has leaves over 2 feet long:



    roxanna7 thanked rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    roxanna7, since you live up north it would be a good idea to chop off all the leaves, bring them inside and store them someplace cool until next season.

  • 4 years ago

    Thanks, Brian -- our weather here in New England at the moment is delightful [in the 70s], but that will change soon! I brought all my 14 amaryllis pots in yesterday, just to err on the side of caution. I don't want to lose any of them -- especially the 'Hercules' bulb I've had for about 7 years. It was a big bulb originally, and now measures 12 1/2 inches in diameter at the equator. [!!!]

  • 4 years ago

    Just a note of caution about whacking off living amaryllis leaves: if you feel you must do this, it is wiser to cut the leaves well above the neck of the bulb. I have cut off green leaves in the late fall (Minnesota) at the point where, in my observation, they were liable to get killed off by frost anyway; then moved them into a chilly but not freezing room. The combination of damp plus chill led to disease on one or two and because I had cut them low, some mold actually got down into the necks and into the bulbs themselves. I saved these bulbs, but the resuscitation period was very very long for the worse affected one.

    I have also read elsewhere - and I can't remember where or cite any authority - that it's unwise to cut back living amaryllis foliage, for exactly this reason.

    This year we had a long fall. Many of my plants (all in pots) didn't really go fully dormant before I had to bring them into the cold-but-not-freezing room. Obviously they're not being watered, but I'm not cutting back anything that's green; nor will I do so when they come back into the house in about two weeks. I'll start dribbling them in a few at a time (I have at least 20) shortly after Thanksgiving, to get extended bloom time that should last through next March. I repot annually for best performance. They'll definitely survive and bloom at least once if you don't do that, but I'm aiming for optimal and not just acceptable.

    Just my 2¢.