I get a lot of questions about plants that don't behave the way the books say they're supposed to. Plants and deer really should pay better attention to all the research we've done on them and play along, don't you think? Until then, we have to learn to go with nature.
Amy wrote me that she's had her Amaryllis for about a year and it won't go dormant. It still has 4 or 5 green leaves on it. Should she cut the leaves off? Also the plant seems pot bound. Is now a good time to transplant it?
Sometimes the leaves just won't cooperate, but that doesn't mean the Amaryllis bulb isn't going dormant. Don't bother cutting the leaves off. They'll whither on their own eventually.
Do stop watering the plant and move it to a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Start checking for a flower stalk in about 8 weeks. When you see it poking up, move the plant back into light and start watering again.
Unless your bulb is bursting out of its pot, it's probably fine. Amaryllis need to be snug in their pots to flower. If you think it really has squeezed out all the soil, now is a good time to repot. Only go one size larger and still follow the dormancy instructions above. The cross your fingers and hope your plant learns to read.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti
Comments
I bury my ammy’s pot and all on the side of my vegetable garden in late may. Come September most leaves have dried off, I lift the bulbs before frost, replant in new soil the plants that already show new growth, store the rest in peat moss in the cool room until they show new growth. I then enjoy my amaryllis for many winter months. Having great luck with this method.
I tuck mine in the back of a flower bed for the summer. That’s a clever idea, to store the unsprouted bulbs in peat moss until they show new growth. Usually I tuck mine, pot and all, in a dark corner and forget about it, until I stumble on it by accident.
I have a bed of pink amaryllis and for the first time they did not bloom this year. Any ideas as to why that would happen?
The bed of red ones bloomed beautifully.
It’s hard to say why plants don’t perform. It could be that the pink ones didn’t build up enough energy or it could be that they’re in different areas and didn’t get enough water, light or whatever. It’s disappointing, I know, but as long as they’re putting up leaves, they should be fine and will bloom when they’re ready.