Friday, November 13, 2009

Growing amaryllis, why are the leaves so long and no flower?

planted in late nov leaves are long and falling over i still have no sign of flowwer what do i need to do

Growing amaryllis, why are the leaves so long and no flower?
It sounds like your amaryllis is just going through a normal cycle of not blooming. Keep it as near a possible to a sunny window and if possible, right on the window's edge. Amaryllis like light and thrive in high light conditions (right by the window) unlike most houseplants. (The leaves will stiffen up in high light conditions and not fall over.)





Watch it so you do not over-fertilize your potted amaryllis because that in itself (especially high nitrogen content) will cut down on possible blooming.





Wait until your plant naturally starts to yellow and die down. Stop watering altogether and place in a dark, cool place. I do not cut off the leaves right away but let them yellow and dry right on the plant. Leave the plant in that dormant condition for months, letting the soil dry out completely. Sometimes a flower bud will start to force itself out of the bulb after a few months. That is the sign for you to bring it back out into the light and to start watering it again. If you get leaf sprouts again, bring it out into the light anyway and let those leaves get as big and long as possible in high light conditions and start the whole process all over again.





I have had an amaryllis get a flower bud while the leaves were still very green and growing on the plant -- but that is a rare occurrence.





The thing you have to remember is that even though you go through the drying, low light dormancy routine, you still might not get a flower -- and then too, some of this depends on the variety too. I've found that the more medium sized amaryllis can be depended on to bloom more regularly whereas the giant kind like to "take a break" or several breaks from blooming.
Reply:The exact same thing hapened to me just buy a fertilizer 20-20-20 water it once a week put it in a place where it is 23 degrees celcius and it needs to have lots of sun have patients eventualy there will be another stock growing and thats the flower stock and in a few short weeks you will get flowers coming out youpi!
Reply:Amaryllis are Type-A perfectionists. They will not cooperate unless everything is exactly the way they want it. Sunlight, moisture, soil, fertilizer, plenty of rest, some candlelight and Frank Sinatra.





Pull it out, brush it off, put it in a shoebox in the corner of your garage. Then point your finger at it and say "BAD bulb!"


Wait 3 months and throw it a nice homecoming party with Miracle Grow 'Potting Mix', add some 5-10-5 or 6-12-6 fertilizer, and a lage clay pot facing East. You will have floral fireworks by May. I guarantee.
Reply:Amaryllis need rests periods in between blooming cycles first of all. You can try to cut the flower stalk down in an effort to force the plant to shoot up another bloom. However when you do this, don't cut the leaves off. More light and nutrients too.
Reply:Keep it moist, fertilize, full sun, it will bloom. The leaves grow long, nature of the plant. Length of days - sun light hours, and temperature cause flower production.
Reply:Normally, if an amaryllis is going to bloom, the flowers emerge before the leaves, and certainly before the leaves grow very long as yours have. It sounds like your amaryllis bulb did not store enough food from the last time the plant was actively growing to form a flower. It takes about 7 actively growing leaves to produce enough food before the plant goes dormant so that it can make a flower when it starts growing again. So, you're off to a good start for a flower next season!





Keep the green leaves growing throughout the spring and summer if you can. Then gradually withhold water in the fall. When the leaves turn yellow and wither, cut them back and store the bulb dry for about 8 weeks. Then, bring the bulb back into a sunny warm, place and begin watering again. Bet you'll have beautiful flowers next time. Good luck.


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