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Bulbs/storing amaryllis bulbs

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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 7/22/2008


Question
I had to dig up an existing garden, it was old and overgrown from neglect, I bought the house and want to keep the amaryllis, I had them in water and now they are on a trap on my covered porch (ALABAMA) . What can I do to store them until the next planting season(which is when?) because I don't know where they will go yet bmy yard is a mess and a work in progress and I maybe can plant them next year. Some are hugh and very old and some are babies.
Thank You!

Answer
Amaryllis do not like to be moved around and transplanted.  Best thing to do is to pot these up individually, in a pot, submgerged right up to their necks in a pot no larger than one size up.  If they have leaves, Water them.  When dormant, KEEP THEM POTTED and place out of the way until growth resumes a few months later.  They'll look dead for that stretch, but one day you'll see the Green emerging from the Bulb, and it will be time again to bathe with water and Sunlight.

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

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