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Mysterious Bulbs Investigation

3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

Hello everyone,

Well this is a funny story, but it's still a mystery.

Three years ago, my friend brought me bulbs from her mother and told me they were lilies, however I felt that they were more like amaryllis, and since then I was convinced that they were amaryllis (or lilies anyway) and treating them accordingly. But, they never bloomed!

Every year, I tried different spots with varied sunlight exposures, fertilised them, watered them properly, gave them time to go dormant... and they always come back and produce beautiful rich green foliage, but no flowers!

Now, after three years, I got really frustrated, and suspicious, wondering what I am doing wrong. So I asked my friend to ask her mother why they're not blooming with all the care I do for them... her mother said that they were NOT lilies (or others), they are ornamental greeny things for the living room that are not meant to bloom, they just produce leaves!! (Are you kidding me!)

How is that possible?!!

So my question is: what kind of ornamental bulbs that are just leaves and never meant to bloom, and have leaves that look like amaryllis leaves??

Thank you! :)




Comments (16)

  • 3 years ago

    All bulbs will bloom when they size up enough and have the correct conditions. They are degifinitely not lilies because the leaves are entirely different. They could be Amaryllis. I have never managed to get one to rebloom, so not blooming for you doesn't mean they aren't Amaryllis. Could you dig up one bulb and show us what it looks like? They actually look a lot like Clivia, which can live a long time without flowering, but they don't have bulbs, they have fleshy roots.

  • 3 years ago



    This is the biggest one. Does that mean they're still too small to bloom?

  • 3 years ago

    you will grow better plants.. if you use a potting media instead of mother earth in said pots...


    ken

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    And for me hippeastrums (commonly known as Amaryllis) are absurdly easy to rebloom and multiply. If those are hippeastrums, they bulb isn't that big, but some species have smaller bulbs.

    Conditions have to support their growth...water/drainage/FULL SUNLIGHT, oh did I say full sunlight? Well make sure they get plenty of sun.

  • 3 years ago

    The problem is that when they were placed in full sun (as I've mentioned before I've tried different spots), the leaves started to yellow. So I tried a different spot with partial sun, and the leaves got greener.

  • 3 years ago

    Did you acclimate the leaves over, say a month or six weeks to full sun, or just plop it down in full sun from lower light levels?

    There are probably species that don't require full sunlight, I just haven't grown any.

  • 3 years ago

    Danny, do you put your Hippeastrums outside after they bloom? Will they keep their foliage until autumn, or do they go dormant before the autumn?

  • 3 years ago

    Yeah I was going to ask about the dormancy process.

    And yes, I acclimated them, exposed them gradually to full sun, though I don't think they liked it.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    They could be seedling amaryllis plants. One of my large bulbs bloomed and bore seed. I had hundreds of seedlings come up Hard to throw them out, but know that they could take five years or more before seedlings get large enough to bloom. I would pot them up separately. And patience is key

  • 3 years ago

    They could also be hippaestrum/amarylis offsets, which is the primary method of propagation. Still takes a season or two before they flower but a much faster process than raising from seed.

  • 3 years ago

    Yes, Jay, back in the day when I was interested at all with Hippeastrums (ended about umm 25 yrs ago), I put them outside to maximize photosynthesis and minimize summer care.

  • 3 years ago

    Middle East, the Mediterranean, however not at the humid regions, but it's rather dry and hot in summer and cold and humid in winter.

    And yes, the bulbs didn't get any bigger in three years, they're still in the same size.

    Should I try as you suggested, more sun and skipping the dormancy procedure?

  • 3 years ago

    Yes. Do try to ease them into full sun gradually over a week or two so those leaves are retained as much as possible. I have seen them grow and bloom in full sun in Delhi's (India) arid hot climate in terracotta pots without inducing any dormancy. I think they lose a lot of leaves in winter (and need much less water) over there and bloom during monsoon.

    Ran thanked getgoing100_7b_nj
  • 3 years ago

    Maybe they are agapanthus. I have never been able to get mine to re-bloom, but someone who did told me they like to be crowded. Just a thought to add to your list of potential suspects.

    Ran thanked AC M
  • 3 years ago

    Well, Thank you! I like new thoughts and I will keep this one in mind.

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