Amaryllis - Which One??? Promise! Thanks, Rebecca!

[Ann B.]

This is one of the newer ones, but I don't know what happened to the tag. It is not in the pot.

Rebecca, do you recognise it? The blooms are huge....

[Ann B.]

Another view...

Don't mind the red marks on my finger. That's a teacher thing. I use the projector a lot, and I barely get home before dark due to road construction. Also, don't mind the mess in the background. That's the tarp that 'was' on the new porch. It gets dark soon after getting home, so it has to wait to be folded and put away.

[Rebecca]

Do I recognise it? You bet your sweet ol self I do! That is none other than PROMISE! I had almost forgotten just how beautiful that was is, and it hasn't been that long ago that mine put up summer blooms! Mine is still green and growing and I am beginning to wonder if it is ever going to go dormant - all of the others have!

Keep you PROMISE watered and fed for as long as it wants to grow, when Spring rolls around move it into a larger pot to give it plenty of root room. I moved mine into a 12-inch florist's tub that I had drilled holes in. It's also sending out no less than three pups! I'll leave them with the mother bulb and in a couple of years I'll have quite the show when they all bloom!

BTW, I did add new images to the APHRODITE post


PROMISE is BREATH-TAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!


Rebecca

[shepp]

here is a pic from last year i neglected to get posted.

[shepp]

another angle

[shepp]

i believe this is called Red lion.
i pollinated these and got a boat load of seed . i gave them all to one of my older sisters 3 weeks ago.what should she do to get them growing or did i hold them to long to be any good?
i think these were blooming around easter this year. 2004
Shepp

[Rebecca]

Shepp,

That is NOT 'Red Lion'! RED LION is a deep dark red self.

Having said that there are four possibilities that it could be; 2 are Dutch hybrids (tall scapes) and two are African hybrids (short scapes):

Dutch:

LILAC FAVORITE
WONDERLAND

AFRICAN:

FIRST LOVE
SUMMERTIME

Personally I think it is between the first two. Regardless of which particular cultivar it is it IS absolutely beautiful!.

As for growing the seeds, I leave that to Ann as she has had some experience with that aspect, whereas I have not tried growing them from seed, at least not yet!

Rebecca

[Ann B.]

Shepp,

That is GORGEOUS! Is it really that pink? Red Lion is solid red. Minerva is a red version similar to what you have. I don't have one just like that, but perhaps Pink Star or something like that.

It's nice! The seeds will not come true... They are best germinated when they are first harvested. They tend to dry out fast. Some people germinate them by floating them in water. Doesn't work for me... I have grown them in soiless mix in pots and in ziplocs, but my favorite method is:

http://www.landspro.com/page8.htm

They will take up to three years or more to get to blooming size, but it is worth the wait to see what you will get. I started out transplanting them to individual cell paks, but I think that just planting them in groups in larger pots will suffice for the first couple of years.

I think mine would have grown faster if I had used more fertilizer.

Thanks for the pics. They are beautiful, and it's nice to see 3 stalks. That means you have a really big bulb, so you might want to put it in a bigger pot so it will divide and make more bulbs for you.

Then you can share an identical one with your sister!

[Ann B.]

Remind me to take a picture of my Staghorn fern.... It has really multiplied!

[vicki]

Ooohhh la la! That is beautiful!!! I just love that pink color. Pink and blues are my favorite colors for flowers. I sent my amaryllis over to my Mom's cause I just don't have enough sunshine in here for it to do good. She has lots of south facing windows.

[Dazed_Lily]

Noticed the Amaryllis are half price at Wal-Mart: 2/$6. I didn't have time to buy one(or two!) as hubby was on a mission. We park next to the garden center and walk through there and, well, things like stopping are bound to happen ! LOL !
I did note that they have Minerva, Red Lion and Apple Blossom but when it comes down to choosing, it will be which bulb looks the healthiest ! I almost had taken one to my Mom when I went to Florida last week but thought that all Wal-Marts are the same and they would have them at her Wal-Mart. Wrong ! They had some already in bloom but that's no fun ! So, maybe I can mail her one now.

[Rebecca]

Unless you have a heat pack to put in with the bulb, I wouldn't risk shipping a tender bulb this time of year. It could very easily freeze and I'm sure you don't want to send your Mom a box of mush!

Send her a Wal-Mart Gift Card and let her pick out something for herself, maybe even one of those pre--grown ones!

Rebecca

[Dazed_Lily]

Good point. I bought two for myself on the way home today and can transport one to Florida on one of my visits when the weather gets warmer.(Mom usually enjoys those Wal-Mart gift cards but ever since they did away with the bargain shelves-like curtains and placemats for a couple of dollars-she is not happy with the store and is semi-protesting by not going there as much. I'm sure the Waltons are sweating that one !)
Got a Minerva--almost 12 inches around and with 2 sprouts and a Red Lion--almost 10 inches around with a sprout. All the Red Lions were smaller.
Now here's my first observation--the pot that comes with the bulb has no holes. This is good when soaking the coir pellet but not good, I would assume, for the bulb. Should I poke holes ?
:confused:

[Ann B.]

Cathy,

I take it out of that pot with no holes primarily because mine spend as many days outdoors as possible.

The inner pots are flimsy and will fall apart after one year outside, two years maximum inside. The pots supplied just do not hold up well.

Let them grow in these pots for the first season, then if you can, transplant them to nursery containers or regular house plant pots.

Rebecca is right! My Promise blossoms are HUGE compared to the others. And there are so many, and they seem to last longer than the others. But perhaps that is because it has been cooler in the last week.

Really cold now, but they are all in the new porch and patio area.

Enjoy them, Cathy! I adore them!

[Ann B.]

Gotta love this one...

It looks more red when the picture is taken in the shade of the afternoon, but it is really dark pink.

[Ann B.]

When summer gets here, I need to add a second method which will replace the first.

I have had tremendous success with a little of potting soil in a clear plastic tray, followed by a generous layer of vermiculite. Water well, then place the seeds on top and cover lightly with vermiculite, cover with a plastic lid, then use a rubber band to secure the lid.

These containers are small, so they fit under my fluorescents quite nicely. I don't have to worry about watering them. They stay moist and humid, and they pop up and are ready to be moved after about 3 weeks.

Today, I transplanted some that were only a little over a month old. They had one single tap root (most of them), and I had to be extremely careful with them.

I think it is easier if I leave the in the small containers until several long roots form.

Timing and space is an issue...