Amaryllis seeds?

Tell me what you know about growing amaryllis from seed?

Amaryllis seeds?
Seed pods mature within 4 to 5 weeks after the flower has been pollinated. Pick the pods as soon as they turn yellow and split open. Remove the black, papery seeds from the pod and plant them immediately in pots or flats containing a well-drained medium such as vermiculite or coarse sand mixed with peat. Cover the seeds lightly with additional medium. Keep the newly planted seeds in partial shade until they germinate. Then gradually increase the amount of light they receive until they are in full sun. Fertilize with a half-strength liquid fertilizer solution every other week.


http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP060





Make sure you check your seeds for viability:


If you place an Amaryllis seed between your thumb and index finger you'll be able to tell which are the viable Amaryllis seeds because there will be a pronounced "bump" in the middle of the otherwise flat seed. Any seeds that you can't feel the embryo in failed and are just chaff and can be tossed out because nothing will sprout from them.


The seeds that have the embryo should be planted soon after you've collected them.


http://www.amaryllisbulbs.org/2007/12/vi...





You can use a general purpose houseplant potting soil and amend it with perlite so that your soil is light and airy.





Here's a picture of a small Amaryllis bulb grown from seed which is only a few months old. It'll eventually turn huge:


http://www.amaryllisbulbs.org/





It takes Amaryllis bulbs anywhere from two to three years to reach the stage where they will be able to flower.





I think you'll enjoy reading other accounts of planting Amaryllis seeds from this forum:


"I use 4 inch plastic pots. I fill them with wet Pro-Mix BX (potting mix) to about 1/2 from the top. I then fill the remaining space with builders sand. I then take a lable end and make slits in the sand into which I place the seeds, leaving just a piece sticking up. I then wrap the pot in a one gallon clear plastic bag and put them under lights (cool whites).


I have started thousands this way. When the leaves hit the top of the bag I open it for a day, then remove it. When the new bulbs reach about pea size I repot the plants into individual 4 inch plastic pots, potting up to 6 or 8 inch pots when required.


I only water with 1/4 strength liquid fertilizer.


The builder's sand is only the top half inch of so, all the roots are below it in Pro Mix BX. I have done hundreds that way. I start them under lights and move them to my greenhouse when I repot them. It has worked very well for me. I use a lable end to make the slit for the seed, slip them in, press the sand down, which is wet from the soil below.


The purpose of the sand it to prevent damping off. I also have used powered cinnamon sprinkled on top to stop mold from growing on the wet sand. Once the seeds are sprouted it is generally no problem."





Another method: "drop the seeds in a glass of water and keep it in indirect sun (or vey dappled sunlight). this is called the california method and the seeds (if they haven't been fried :-) ) should sprout right there in the glass. wait til you have a quarter inch of root and then plant them in soil." With this method some seeds take weeks to over a month to sprout.


http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load...





Good Luck! Merry Christmas! Hope this is helpful.
Reply:They don't grow from seeds. They grow from a bulb, like a lilly or tulip. The bulb looks like a clove of garlic or an onion. If fact, that is what a clove of garlic and an onion are. You can buy them in a hardware store, or gardening supply store. Plant them in the fall or early winter. There are directions on the package. Leave them outside to get really cold. They will sprout in the spring. Don't cut them, leave them in the pot or ground and next year you will get two or more.
Reply:Hello,


I have several of these myself and a couple of them have nice healthy seed pods on them, I hand pollinated them to see what would happen.


I found out that these Amaryllis bulbs we buy at the store are not truly amaryllis bulbs but they are Hippeastrum bulbs. I will add my source below.


The article I read is to use the floating method. I will try this when my seeds are ready.


From what I have read it takes a couple years for these seeds to develop and flower.


Hope this helps...
Reply:To produce amaryllis seeds you need to fertilize your plant and keep it watered all summer and let the foliage grow until august and put it dormant. It will then have flowers the next year.





Note: Repot when you bring it out of dormancy, don't put it in a bigger pot, just take it out, shake off all the soil, and put it in new potting soil.





"This University of Nebraska Web site on the Culture of Amaryllis has this to say about seed propagation:





"Amaryllis can be propagated by seed, offsets or cuttage. Since seeds do not always produce plants similar to their parents, most named hybrids and selected strains are propagated by cuttage. Seed pods of amaryllis develop rapidly and are mature within 4 to 5 weeks after the flower has been pollinated. Pods should be picked as soon as they turn yellow and begin to break open. Seeds should be removed from the pod, allowed to dry for a few days and planted immediately. The seed bed should be partially shaded, and the media used for seed germination should be well drained. Following germination, increase the light until the plants are receiving full sunlight."





The link below has great instructions on how to propagate your amaryllis by seed.





Amaryllis can be propagated by seed, offsets or cuttage. See link below...





Update: For the seed, expect it to take about five years to bloom.





Sow the seeds (bulbils), but barely cover them and keep them moist, but not soggy. Keep the seeds at room temperature. The resulting plants should flower for you in three to four years.