Expert: Long Island Gardener - 12/15/2007

Question
QUESTION: I have just been given an Amaryllis in a huge glass container with sand on the bottom and glass pebbles on top of that to hold firm the roots. The instructions said to add a cup and a half of water. I know very little about Amaryllis. My question is do I continually top up the water to maintain a level and how do I prevent the pebbles getting slimy...as the water level goes down.

ANSWER: You'll do much better with this gift if you can get your hands on a 6- to 12-inch Clay Pot at your local garden center or Home Depot and pot it up in soil.

This one will grow, but it will never do as well, or last as long, if you grow it in a glass of water.  Even if it has pebbles in it.

Lots of people don't want to deal with dirt indoors.  So the water-culture of indoor winter bulbs like Paperwhites and Amaryllis makes sense.  They toss the bulb after flowering, no fuss no muss, and that's the end of that.

But for the gift that keeps on giving, pot this bulb up.  It needs to be sticking out of the pot, out of the soil, and it will bloom beautifully for years and years, with dormant periods in between.

If water culture is your cup of tea, just keep topping off the water like you would a fishtank.  The slimy water is the secretions of anaerobic bacteria.  Replacing the water daily, and scouring the container you are using to grow the bulb to remove bacteria, will control the bacterial population and algae levels.  Thanks for your question.

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QUESTION: this is very helpful, thank you. so it will be alright to pot the Amaryllis AS it's growing it's first flower? the potting won't put it into shock?

Answer
The stress this plant is under as we speak is worse than the stress is will be under if you pot it up in healthy Soil.  Sort of like the stress caused by starvation, vs the stress of finally eating.  Change equals stress, but you do what you gotta do.