I've tried twice to get Chico and each time got a cybister hybrid substitute. These are from reputable vendors that otherwise I haven't had a problem with. I'm very interested in Chico but have read that it's hard to find. Apparently substitutes are what you can expect to get.

Does anyone have advice for how I can find the real Chico?

Unfortunately it is difficult to get specific cybister cultivars. They are frequently substituted. You seem to get whatever is available, and they don't even label them correctly. This happened to me this season. I received an unnamed cybister instead of the Hadeco sonatini (Swazi) that I had ordered. To add insult to injury, the cybister had the Swazi label . And to add further insult to injury, I am unable to ID the cybister. Maybe, the growers think that we are too stupid to tell the difference. You are going to have to get an offset from someone that has a Chico. Then wait a couple of years for it to bloom.

https://www.whiteflowerfarm.co...
Right now they are sold out, but you can put your name on a list to be notified when they are back in stock.

I've read that between harvesting and reaching the customer, an amaryllis bulb can transfer hands no less than six times. Unfortunately, the mis-labeling can seem intentional. In the case of Chico, it's very suspicious indeed! Christie, I did put my name on the list for Chico with WFF. Let's see what happens. If anyone wants to offer me an offset of Chico, please let me know!

Yes, it is easy to get the wrong bulb. You can't tell by just looking at the bulb, and so going through 6 hands, it is easy to mix them up. Hang in there waiting for Chico. I just ordered Lady Jane. A squirrel stole my Lady Jane, and then a company sent me a bulb that was lovely but NOT Lady Jane. I now am awaiting a Lady Jane from a different company.

Lady Jane and Madrid are so very similar. I can't really tell them apart. In the past, they were sometimes substituted for each other. So I hope you do actually get your Lady Jane.

I've ordered from White Flower Farm in the past and the plants have always far exceeded my expectations, even in the way they're packed so when UPS or Fedex tips the box upside down, the soil stays in the pots and the plants don't get crushed. So hopefully you'll get the right bulb, their quality is very very good.

Out of 3 amaryllis that I ordered 2 years ago, only 1 was what I actually ordered. But the other 2 were nice so I kept them. I have the same bad luck with canna lilies as well... ordered Lucifer and got some very tall coral flower.

Nancy, the issue, with 2 out of 3 of your bulbs being mislabeled, is that they are so expensive. This year I received 8 out of 22 bulbs mislabeled. 3 or those were NOIDs since I wasn't able to identify them. I think that this is the worst year for me, in terms of mislabeled bulbs. Amaryllis Bulb Company was the only one out of 5 companies which shipped me a totally correct order.

I do think that sometime they substitute bulbs when they don't have the one you want - a company admitted that to me. But the reputable ones should notify you if they don't have the one your ordered. Brecks accidentally shipped me the wrong bulb once and corrected it immediately - even let me keep the wrong one. A different company shipped me the wrong one on purpose and refused to correct it because they said they had the right to substitute.