Tell me your experience with these. I have a couple of bulbs for years and no blooms yet!

Funny you should ask. I had some bulbs in the ground that bloomed 2 years ago and not since then. I just dug them up and put them in pots. They are multiplying, but no blooms. Maybe we should ask on the hippeastrum forum. Sprekelia is in that family.

I've managed to get a few blooms on mine but not many. They like to be cool and dry in the winter, then when growth resumes increase the watering and some fertilizer but still let them dry between waterings.

That sounds like I need to keep them in a pot. Our winters are not dry, so I'll have to keep it in the garage. That's how I treat my clivias and scadouxus. Now, do they die down when they are dormant?

Yes they do. So far mine have put up leaves before the flowers but I'm not sure if that's the norm or a quirk of my particular plants. I keep mine dry in a cool (50 deg.) sunporch over winter and don't water till they start to show new growth.

Thanks for the info, Brian. I'll probably overwinter mine in the garage with my clivias and other tropicals.

I've had success off and on over the past decade with Aztecs. The first season they were magnificent and multiplied rapidly, then for a few years no blooms but grown anyway. I'd about given up on them in 2011, when, to my delight, one day in early June, I went into the basement and to my utter amazement the buds had broken the surface of this large container and were blooming away. This year (same container), just green. Perhaps next spring.
My bulbs are stored in their container, dry, over winter in the basement. Usually the bloom precedes the foliage.
A pot full -

Thanks, JMorth. That convinces me that I'm doing the right thing by potting them up and to expect erratic blooming.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've tried in the ground and in pot but neither have worked
So, JMorth, yours have been in their pots for how many years? I read that they don't like beening disturbed.
I will have to dig the ones up and put into a pot. I've had these since 2001. Do you use fertilizer?
Do you water a little during winter? Our winters aren't very cold so maybe not enough cold for them?

I believe the Aztec is hardy in your zone, listed so in Z 8 -10; it's originally from Mexico and Guatemala. Bloom best when crowded, need excellent drainage and good moisture when growing, When dormant they need very dry conditions . Root disturbance is detrimental to blooming. One source notes they don't bloom every year, siting as an example that in a clump of a dozen, only 2 or 2 might bloom. Mine have resided in pots, containers now several year's running. Last year and the year before they bloomed, this year naught. When they do bloom, they're quite impressive though rather transitory in duration. Fertilizer use has been problematical. They sometimes get a shot of general water mixed Miracle Grow in the summer. No water over winter, stored in their pots dry overwinter in the basement where temp is usually 55 to 65°.

I keep 'Sprekels Lily' in a plastic 1/2 44 gallon drum.,I inherited them 2 yrs ago, dug them up and planted them here,.,I guarentee there will be flowers this year[,December] as there have been none since the transplant..Massive blooms there Jack..what are you feeding them , Vegemite?

I had sprekelia several years ago and they bloomed for couple years in a row as well as produced many new bulbs....and I think they got rained on too much one year and rotted away. last year I bough another bulb and they are in full bloom now- 2 magnificent flowers . I grow them in Zone 6 in the pots which go to the basement or the winter with NO WATERING ..I do place them neat French drain there so there is some moisture in the air . Start watering when I see sign of life....
That is my designated spot for all lilies _Gloriosa, Blood lily and pineapple lily -all spectacular....

Aztec
5-16-19
5-19-19
I've had mine for a decade or so, they usually bloom, but some years don't.
Like you, zone 6 and over wintered in cool basement; same as Pineapple Lilies, Blood Lilies, and Gloriosas...plus Rain Lilies, some Oxalis, Agapanthus, Bessera, Elephant Ears, Crinum, and Calla Lilies.
Potted Lilies are overwintered in garage.

It's been 7 years since my original post; and still no blooms! All I have are leaves and the leaves never die down during winter. They have been in the same pot forever.
@jmorth, so, so jealous!

My new avatar photo is the Hippeasprekelia 'Durga Pradhan' that @Gerris was kind enough to share with me. I guess that will be the closest I will see the sprekelia bloom.

Betsy, when a plant refuses to bloom o thrive, a very popular 'medicine' in Chile is to tell (yes, talk to the plant) that you will give her a last chance to bloom/thrive during the next season - otherwise, not withstanding the love you have been giving her, you will have to dispose of her in the crusher to add her remains in the compost pile. A friend of mine even ties nice lace around the pot or places some quartz crystals on top of the soil. I have no explanation for it, but ....... IT WORKS!

@mutisia,
Thank you for the info - I will be very severe - now to find quartz crystals.

A nice ribbon is another alternative (in fact anything you can think of)

I like that idea on quartz crystals; of which, I've a lot...
(top shelf is almost all quartz)

I know, J. I have been drooling watching your pictures. Just love them in their natural shapes!

I forgot about this post…it's been three years since last posting.

My Spekelia finally bloomed on May 22, 2022!!! Only one stalk … I couldn't believe my eyes!!!

I bought a package of bulbs at the Amsterdam airport 20 years ago during a layover. I didn't think I would live to see them bloom.

Now I'm hoping they will bloom again this year.