Expert: Long Island Gardener - 2/10/2007

Question
After flowering, how do I store the bulb? In the soil or remove it from the soil>

Answer
My friend, Amaryllis perform best when potted and left alone for 2-3 seasons or longer.

Some bulbs are like that.  Amaryllis happens to be one of them.

As you know, Amaryllis needs R&R.  They go dormant for months to get that R&R.

And this is where many Gardeners give up.

Because keeping a dormant plant can feel like a total waste of time - at best.  And at worst, the people you live with will consider you not just eccentric, but maybe serious neurotic.  The kind of person who just won't let go.

Can you blame them?

You are sitting with a pot of dead dirt.  It seems to have absolutely no use whatsoever other than to take up space and occasionally fall over and spill everywhere.  Anyone who sees it will think you have a problem: You can't admit that you have a brown thumb.  The dog will knock it over and play with it.  Tell them it's "resting" and they'll think you're in denial.

At our house, the nanny considered all dormant potted plants utterly worthless.  One weekend she did us the "favor" of throwing out a dormant potted Amaryllis bulb.  I rescued it just in time from the rubbish, but not before we argued as to whether there was anything actually growing in that
pot of bone dry dirt under the pantry cabinets.  Months later, of course, there were green sprouts in the dry dirt.  She was amazed.

So Tony, consider yourself warned.  A dormant potted plant, whether deciduous Calla Lily or an Amaryllis, is not a pretty sight.  Keep your dormant pot in a dark, hidden place in the house that you won't forget about but where no one will knock it over or try to clean it up.  Check it every so often for signs of life.  Sprinkle with water until it is fast asleep.  After that, it can completely dry out.  Resume sprinkling when you see signs of life and increase watering as it begins to grow.  Fertilize with a high-Phosphorous fertilizer for best blooms and make sure it has bright, bright sun.  At this point you can call a house meeting and begin it: "Remember that Amaryllis we had a few months ago that died?..."

Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.  Thanks for writing.