Fiat, a lot of my pictures are taken of the blooms after I've put them in vases. I grow the first year bulbs on a sunporch, and treat the Amaryllis as cut flowers, once they are in full bloom. The potted bulbs then go outside to be planted in the garden. I really don't see any difference in bloom time between leaving the scapes on the plants or putting them in water. I started doing this, years ago, when I had such a problem with fungus gnats. The only way I could prevent my dinner guests from being dive-bombed by aggressive gnats, was to keep the pots contained in an separate area. Now, I have the gnat problem under control, by keeping the soil surface dry. I've gotten used to using Amaryllis in flower arrangements, so will continue cutting them. I also use the outdoor blooms in the house as cut flowers. FYI, my first outdoor H. striatum has put up a scape. The striatum is the normally the first one to bloom. Its a bit early, but our winter has been mild, with no frost so far.
