Expert: Laura Walker - 11/19/2006

Question
I have an Amaryllis that I have finally caught at a time I can put it to bed. It keeps growing leaves but never blooms.  I am assuming our house is not warm enough.  

I bought it Feb. 2006.  It never started to grow leaves, and then I read the box and I realized keeping our thermostat at 68% was the cause. I live in the Midwest. So I decided to keep it very close to the heat vents and the leaves came in speedy, but no blossom.  I let the leaves dry out but before I caught it, new leaves were up again.  

I have just taken it out of the pot and it has long roots, some 6 inches.  Do I snip these off?  I read the article about trimming the nose.  I will "blow its' nose" before putting it to bed, but I am going to wait on hearing about these roots, or "dirty feet".

I like to put a little humor on things.  I am unable to flower garden any longer, as well as many things in my life due to health issues, and humor is a way of coping for me.

Thank you for your time.

Noralyn

Answer
Noralyn,
I do not know much about Amaryllis since I live in an area that is too cold to grow them outdoors,but they are usually sold at Christmas time to grow indoors.I am sending you to www.google.com. Go there and type in a direct search for "care of Amaryllis" and you should get plenty of answers.Good luck on your Amaryllis!