I was writing a saga as a preface to a question. I don't know if I deleted it with a mere keystroke or what. So I'll skip to the question.

I have 4 or 5 or maybe 6 bulbs growing in pots outside, mostly in shade. All have long green straps and look good to my inexperienced eye. However, as some may have heard, we had 10 tornadoes a week ago today. I really haven't ventured out much because it just keeps raining. So can the my bulbs drown?
(in the past I've had a crinum bulb drown.)

I was about to post some pictures before the aforementioned tornadoes to show how well they were doing. Right now I'm scared to look. There's more rain in the forecast. Should I bring the pots (ahem!) inside, assuming the bulbs aren't squishy? How much water can they handle, generally speaking?

I'm about to go outside and take a look at everything. Also have to figure out what to do with my overflowing homemade rain barrels but that's another story.

Please be thinking on this and I'll update y'all once I come back inside.

Here's a few 'before' pictures.





And I had planned to ask about these with red on them.

I had last winter similar problem, not tornado's, but huge amount of rain. I found, that as long as there is no plate under the pot, and drainage in the ground is good, all excess water will be washed out, and bulb will not rot.

Red will become late brown, and then this leave will die, but it is a normal, old leaves are dying, will be replaced with a new ones.

I always make sure that all my plants drain. When I went outside after my earlier post, there was one bulb that was soaked. I poured water off the top and brought it inside. Then I started bringing everything inside. Well almost everything. I considered using my blow dryer on some but thought that might not be wise. I hope to repot that one but maybe it will dry before I get the energy to repot it.

After I brought plants inside (no greenhouse, just a sun room), I went back out and started putting down mulch. And sure enough it started to drizzle. Can't trust the forecast but it says we're in for more rain.

Good to know about the red marks. Thanks.

I found here that the soil from local nurseries is very good for amaryllis, no extra mulch is needed. It is made mostly from coconuts, very light and draining very quickly. I had one bulb that was growing inside a soil made from compost, and this one almost dead (rotten) during last winter.

As long as the pots have drain holes in them, they should be OK. However, if left wet too long, the bulbs could rot. How long is too long? I'm not sure, but we had a month long rainy period, and mine did fine. If you think they are too wet too long, try moving the pots to a drier area for a while to allow the soil to dry completely. Not exactly sure what causes those red/ brown spots, but I think it is initiated by stress though. Mine get that way also, and then those leaves eventually die. But new leaves grow and the bulb seems fine. If the bulbs start to get squishy - or slimy - , i would pull them out of the pot, remove the squishy layers, let the bulb dry out completely for several days or longer, then re-pot them into new soil.

The bulbs didn't seem squishy but since we're in for more rain all week and temps hovering around 33/34, I brought them inside. Some were definitely drier than others. I've been meaning to post a picture of the cutest little one that came from Ohio. It's hard to do from my phone because I can't tell for sure which tiny picture is which.

Here's the aforementioned cute little bulb. Probably would be bigger if I'd repotted it sooner than I did or even if I fed it once in awhile. But it really looks good, considering such benign neglect it gets from me.

tx_flower_child said:Here's the aforementioned cute little bulb. Probably would be bigger if I'd repotted it sooner than I did or even if I fed it once in awhile. But it really looks good, considering such benign neglect it gets from me.

Poy side is a big enough, but soil should to be replaced, it looks like junk

Thank you.

sangel said: Poy side is a big enough, but soil should to be replaced, it looks like junk

(I think that's meant to say 'pot size')

What potting medium is recommended? I certainly wouldn't want to pot any bulbs in 'junk'.

Some of my larger bulbs are still good with lots of healthy looking roots. However, despite bringing them in from the rain and subsequent cold, their soil hasn't dried out very much from our recent storms. Thus I need to repot them. Before I do, I'd like to know if there's a recommended 'recipe' or a specific bagged product.

A secondary question has to do with mulch. When the bulbs are in pots and weather permits having them outside, is it ok to put a little hardwood mulch on top?

tx_flower_child said:



A secondary question has to do with mulch. When the bulbs are in pots and weather permits having them outside, is it ok to put a little hardwood mulch on top?

I do not use any mulch. I put a layer or cow or horse manure on the bottom of the pot and coconut soil for the plant. Excess of this soil on the top is serves as mulch.

sangel said:

I do not use any mulch. I put a layer or cow or horse manure on the bottom of the pot and coconut soil for the plant. Excess of this soil on the top is serves as mulch.

So you only use manure and coconut soil (thinking that what you call coconut soil is what we call coconut fiber or maybe coir?). Just 2 ingredients?

@tx_flower_child yes. And after several month I use solid (granular) synthetic fertilizer as well (every few month). Coconut soil is a ready made soil that I buy in the nurseries, it is very light and fluffy and mostly made from coconuts fibers.

I use about 2/3 regular potting soil and 1/3 compost. And throw in a little granular bulb food.

So I finally took a picture or more of the amaryllis that was drowning. It's Red Lion, one that I got last year at a basic store rather than a nursery. If I weren't in a hurry I'd look at what it did last year. I bet a few of y'all might remember that there was one I bought that was a 'not-white white'.

So I took Red Lion out of the pot (!) to let it dry. Roots look good.
Question: Should I trim them?

It has a baby. 👶 The baby has good roots and feels like it's gonna separate from the mom. One picture compares its size to a large clove of garlic. Question: Should I help it separate from its mom?

Here's the pictures. Have a couple of questions about the leaves but will ask later.










Should I use some coir or coconut fiber in the pot if the baby is ready to leave home?

Appreciate any answers.

you can leave baby with a mam, or you can separate, it is the same. Do not trim the roots, just put then a new soil.

Interesting discussion of potting mediums. Many times it is dependent on what is locally available. Main thing is something that drains quickly. Those roots are beautiful. As Ron said, once the bulblet has good roots it can be separated from the parent Or leave it with the big bulb and eventually get a clump. Though Ron, I remember when you left the clump to fill up the pot, you had a difficult time separating out the different bulbs. I personally would never cut roots when I repot. Any wound is just another point for infection. Some people dust the roots and basal plate with ground cinnamon as a natural antiseptic. On the other hand, I heard someplace (I don't remember where or from whom) that too much cinnamon acts to retard the production of new roots. So I say, whatever works for you.

Thanks, Barbara.

When I was cleaning some of the muck off the bulb, gently using a small brush (a little art brush), I could feel that the baby bulblet was loose and about to runaway from home. My inclination is to give it a nudge if it still feels loose when mom and baby are completely dry. Not sure if it shows that the bulblet has some very healthy roots of its own.

Looking back at the pictures I posted I don't think they show the roots in total. But good point about any wound matters.

Here's a picture to show how long the leaves are.



Note that one leaf is about to tear off a few inches from the bulb end. I will let it go on its own rather than snip it where it's tearing. And I imagine I probably caused the tear when I was rushing to bring my plants inside.



The other leaf appears to be shriveled close to the bulb.



I know leaves eventually yellow and drop off. Should I let that one just take its time to do its thing?

One more question. Is there any need to keep the bulb in a cool, dark place for awhile? Or is that done only for trying to force a bloom?
I can easily keep it in a cool dark place but if the reason to do so is to force a bloom, well, I'm not in a hurry

Thanks again for all input..

I now have more bulbs to inspect. Sigh. But it's a bright sunny day and its 60F. I think it's time for me to go outside.

You need to do one of two things, now that you've uprooted and started to dry out the bulbs. Either force dormancy by putting into a cool dark place, or repot them right now and treat them like a houseplant. Given where you currently are, you may as well continue the process to force dormancy. Cool dark place, good air circulation to discourage rot. In about 8 weeks or as soon as you see some new growth, repot, water once, and put them onto a sheltered sunny spot. You may as well finish tearing off the damaged leaf. I let the leaves go totally yellow and soft before I remove them. Once that process starts, the leaves usually die back quickly.

Thanks much. I've got some cool, dry places but might have to get a small fan to circulate some air. I do have a small fan but probably need a smaller one.

The cabinet that was in the pictures that showed the length of the leaves stays cool, almost like a root cellar. Not quite that cool, tho. (I wish!)

Thanks again for the advice.