How to save an amaryllis?

I was given 2 amarylis for christmas and they have been spectacular but what now?How do I look after them to ensure they bloom next year..any help please.Thanks

How to save an amaryllis?
Check out this site from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/Articles/2... It has some very good information about caring for Amaryllis, and should help you avoid the common problem with not getting repeat bloom beyond the first year.





If properly cared for, they should bloom within 4-6 weeks after being potted. And remember, they require TONS of light! Without adequate light, the leaves get long and floppy, and it won't bloom.





ONLY plant them outdoors if you live in Zone 9-10. You may be able to keep them alive in Zone 8, but you'd have to cover them with mulch for the winter. Anything lower, and they have to be removed every year. What a pain. They don't do well in colder climates.
Reply:I believe that August or September are the months for transplanting Amaryllis, but if they are in a pot, you can set them out anytime they are not blooming. I have some that I stuck in the ground 26 years ago, and they have been given NO care at all, not even enough sun, and they STILL bloom every year and have even reproduced additional bulbs! HOWEVER; do as I say, not as I do, and give them a little TLC with some good potting soil in the hole around them and mix about a teaspoonful of bulb food into the soil you put around them...... and select a sunny location. They'll do fine!
Reply:Amaryllis will flower most of the year if treated right, first you need to pinch the flower head off but leave the flower stalk, then pot the bulb up and start feeding it on a high nitrogen feed, then one a new flower stalk appears change the feed to a tomato feed repeat over and over and you should get a lot more flowers also it will allow new bulbs to grow from the base.
Reply:You don't say whether you are in the UK or in the US. The climate zones do make a difference.





However, if you are in the UK, and the Amaryllis that you were given are pot grown, then when the flower dies back cut off the stem and the leaves to about 3" from the bulb, and take the bulb out of the soil.By cutting the stem and leaves back ,its stops the bulb from putting anymore energy into trying to grow.





When the bulb is out of the soil store in a paper bag not polythene, and store in a dry dark place until next year when you can start it off again in January.
Reply:I planted mine directly in the ground. They won't bloom this spring, but next spring they will be beautiful. Mine have been coming back and blooming every spring for 5 years. Good luck and enjoy.
Reply:Hello--





Keep your amaryllis in a bright spot indoors and let the bloom stalk dry back by itself--you can clip off the dry flowers. Pull off the dry stalks but leave the green leaves. Keep watering regularly and fertilizing once in a while (I use half-strength houseplant fertilizer). Once the weather has warmed up and there's no danger of frost, move the amaryllis in their pots outdoors to a protected spot; under a tree is nice, so they can get a little sun but not get fried all day. Leave them there until the temps start to fall in autumn. As soon as the temp gets down to 45 at night, move them back inside and stop watering. The leaves will die down over the next few weeks, and then you'll see the tips of new leaves. Once that happens water them sparingly, and hopefully in November or December you'll have new bloom spikes starting, and you can water freely. Sometimes they won't bloom again until spring or summer, which is when they bloom in the wild.