I have some very "sad" news to report. My bulb shipment from Royal Colors was intercepted and destroyed by the US Dept of Agriculture plant inspection office in Miami over two weeks ago. Today, I received the empty box with the interception notice. Royal Colors did not get the proper plant permitting. Bulb orders may have gotten through customs at other airports. My order may have just had the bad luck of being found in a spot check. RC website notes that they are no longer shipping outside of Europe, so they know there is a problem. It's not just the money but the thought that 5 bulbs were destroyed. That makes me sick. I contacted RC to see if there is a chance of a refund. I'm hoping that they are not just going to write off a lot of customers in the USA.

Well they should at least refund you since it was their error.
But that is really too bad - they were a good supplier. I received a bulb once from a different supplier that had no paperwork with it, and soil on the bulb. I cringed. I used bleach water to clean off the soil - hoped I did the proper thing.

I never heard back from Royal Colors about my order which was intercepted in Miami. I took a considerable loss. I suspect that the company has made a business decision to "write-off" the customers outside of the EU. Its a shame that it has come to this. Luckily, there are plenty of good American companies selling bulbs. I've had very positive experiences with Amaryllis Bulb Company and Amaryllis Man, both located in Florida.

Lady Jane from Amaryllis Bulb Company. An old favorite of mine, a showy coral-pink and white double. I like it so much that I've ordered it several times over the years.

bsharf said:I never heard back from Royal Colors about my order which was intercepted in Miami. I took a considerable loss. I suspect that the company has made a business decision to "write-off" the customers outside of the EU. Its a shame that it has come to this. Luckily, there are plenty of good American companies selling bulbs. I've had very positive experiences with Amaryllis Bulb Company and Amaryllis Man, both located in Florida.

I sent several bulbs to US as well in a few years, none were stopped by US customs. But this was before the new 2021 local post office rule. Before, I could ship anything to US by regular or registered mail, without any custom declaration label, now from 2021, for all packages over 100 gram, I have to fill custom declaration form online, pay for it online and print it.

Maybe Royal Colors had the same custom rules changes .


There is one good thing about it, shipping by regular mail, had no tracking number before the change, now at least I have a bar code that shows when package was shipped.

The RC box did have a customs declaration as garden items. However the box did not have the United States Department of Agriculture plant inspection sticker, for LIVE PLANT MATERIAL, which is added before shipment. RC chose not to pay for the USDA inspector to come to their facility before the bulbs were shipped to the USA. I don't fault the USDA which is trying to safeguard USA from the accidental importation of disease and insects to this country. RC now states on their website that after Oct 20, they would only ship to EU countries since they chose not to pay the costs of inspection. Apparently the bulbs do not require agricultural inspection between EU countries. What irritates me is that when I ordered at the end of Sept, there was no notice that they were no longer paying for the inspection, which they had done in the past. At that time I ordered, in late Sept, RC claimed that there was no issue with USA shipments. RC shipped the bulbs on Dec 6th, knowing that the chances were very high that they would not get to the USA customers. RC didn't want to refund money to the USA customers which had ordered bulbs last summer. The blame was put onto the cargo company, if the bulbs didn't get through. I can't fault the cargo company, they were just carrying what had been given to them. To me, RC's behavior is unethical.

@bsharf - ugh!!! I am so sorry you had to deal with that, how frustrating! RC definitely doesn't deserve your business anymore, in my opinion, even if they decide to start taking US customers again and/or getting US inspections. That's just my opinion, of course, but if it were me, I wouldn't order from them again unless they gave me a credit for a future purchase to help make amends. (And maybe not even then. Some things just aren't worth the hassle.)

DnD, I appreciate your comment. I certainly would not take a chance on dealing with RC in the future, if they ever decide to sell to the international market again. But I suspect that RC has made a business decision to drastically downsize in these uncertain economic times. It is a loss to the Amaryllis world, since RC carried newly introduced cultivars that were so difficult to get the first or second year. Some of the American sources are able to procure those new bulbs, much later in the fall, or even into the next season. It just means that I need to be patient in obtaining some of the new cultivars. Enough gloomy talk, let's get back to the topic of talking about everyone's new blooms :

bsharf said:It just means that I need to be patient in obtaining some of the new cultivars.

Barbara, how MANY Hipps. varieties do you currently have?
May I ask what your 'all time favorite' variety is? (The one that if you moved and could only take one with you...)

Ken, that question scares me. I sat down and counted. Over the 15 years that I have grown Amaryllis, I have purchased 287 dutch bulbs, 24 cybisters and 71 from Hadeco. The total number includes the NOID bulbs, a few each year. Not all have survived, some were so sick when I got them, I got a bloom out of them but didn't plant them. Some never bloomed again, the cybisters are notorious for that. To keep track, and to help with IDs, I keep a photo album with a clear bloom photo of each bulb, plus date of purchase of all the ones I grew. I advise everyone to do this, saves a lot of confusion later on. I used to have them in the ground in various dedicated beds. 5 years ago, my puppy(on his first day here) dug out over 150 bulbs that a were in a raised bed in the backyard. That was the end of my growing them in the ground. All my bulbs (I estimate about 280) are in fourteen 24" pots on the east side of my house outside of the fenced in back yard. Favorites, that changes each year with the new bulbs. Truthfully my real favorite is voodoo, also called naughty lady, which is a very common and very old "pass along" clumping variety found in so many southern gardens. Mine came from my neighbor's front yard and I've passed them along to several neighbors.

bsharf said: Over the 15 years that I have grown Amaryllis, I have purchased 287 dutch bulbs, 24 cybisters and 71 from Hadeco

Wow...That must be an impressive bloom display!
Thanks for sharing your expertise here on the forum. I'm glad to hear your idea to keep track of them with your photos, as I haven't figured out a good way yet. And you've kept track of them all, truly impressive!

bsharf said:Truthfully my real favorite is voodoo, also called naughty lady

I had to look that one up! It has H. x johnsonii in its parentage, and I've thought of trying x Johnsonii in the ground at my place with heavy winter mulch in a protected location. I'm on the downward edge of zone 7- so I don't know.
But if that naughty dog digs it up again and dislodges an offset that you don't want to replant....
😉

Beautiful blooms finally filling nicely filled out.
Two new bulbs for me this year.

Magical Touch -red and Blushing Bride pink

Ken, since the pots are massed together, the display is spectacular from late Feb though mid May. However June through Jan, the pots are in various stages of fairly chaotic vegetative growth, sitting in a utility area of the property. The pots are not distracting from the appearance of the more formal landscape. Works well for my situation. Amaryllis bulbs are a part of a group that contain two toxic substances; phenanthridine alkaloids and raphide oxalate. These, eaten in large amounts. can cause digestive issues, such as vomiting, excess drooling, and belly ache. Also some hypotension and neurological issues. If a dog chews on a few leaves, he is probably going to drool, but if he eats a bulb, there could be issues. Warning bells went off in my head, when I saw the puppy tearing up the bed of bulbs.

Bea, I really like your photography, its bringing out the true color and texture of the blooms.

kenisaac said:
Wow...That must be an impressive bloom display!
Thanks for sharing your expertise here on the forum. I'm glad to hear your idea to keep track of them with your photos, as I haven't figured out a good way yet. And you've kept track of them all, truly impressive!
I had to look that one up! It has H. x johnsonii in its parentage, and I've thought of trying x Johnsonii in the ground at my place with heavy winter mulch in a protected location. I'm on the downward edge of zone 7- so I don't know.
But if that naughty dog digs it up again and dislodges an offset that you don't want to replant....
😉

my johnsonii X plants are outside all year around as well, in the pots, no problems so far. This year it seems to be even without majoar leaf lost. Bloom should be in the end of march.

Coming out of dormancy early for me, I usually get them outside late April, early May

Photos just Ipad ... love ing all the amaryllis this time of year.





All the bulbs have been shrinking almost by 1/3.
I wish I could shrink that much in 8 weeks.

Beautiful photos, I add just a little water every month during dormancy and it seems to stop the shrinkage.

Thank you the iPad pics are automatic settings. It's nice not to struggle with camera settings and still have decent pics. Amaryllis are a no goof subject, on their own so beautiful can't mess up mother Natures gifts.

The bulbs in pics are blooming now have already lost so much bulb size and down at least two dress sizes. They get lots of water both bloom and when in future dormancy. If I could be so lucky, at least lose one dress size...

Most of last seasons bulbs did not bloom but lots of green leaves again after dormancy period and bulb size has not increased in a years time. Even the wax bulbs had green leaves. I pulled the wax off and planted them in pots last summer. That was a big surprise to see them doing well.

Did have lots of luck with forcing 'Belladonna ' bulbs ordered in the Nov. '20. It still has lots of green foliage. In spring will plant 'B' out in garden. A bulb I cherish because the gophers seem to know they are poisonous and don't eat them and they are hardy in my zone. There is a full area where they flower in the garden yearly usually in August when other blooms are fading.

bumplbea said:Thank you the iPad pics are automatic settings. It's nice not to struggle with camera settings and still have decent pics. Amaryllis are a no goof subject, on their own so beautiful can't mess up mother Natures gifts.

The bulbs in pics are blooming now have already lost so much bulb size and down at least two dress sizes. They get lots of water both bloom and when in future dormancy. If I could be so lucky, at least lose one dress size...

Most of last seasons bulbs did not bloom but lots of green leaves again after dormancy period and bulb size has not increased in a years time. Even the wax bulbs had green leaves. I pulled the wax off and planted them in pots last summer. That was a big surprise to see them doing well.

Did have lots of luck with forcing 'Belladonna ' bulbs ordered in the Nov. '20. It still has lots of green foliage. In spring will plant 'B' out in garden. A bulb I cherish because the gophers seem to know they are poisonous and don't eat them and they are hardy in my zone. There is a full area where they flower in the garden yearly usually in August when other blooms are fading.

I have a problem with Belladonna as well, for 2 years now, only green in the winter, dormant rest of the year, very big bulbs, no bloom