I notice those are very short, I have a very short amaryllis in my garden that is solid red, if it multiplies this year I might try that with some bulbs, reminds me of Christmas candles.

So they were "not" planted in dirt at all? Seems they might not grow much, but if they bloomed for you ... definitely a plus! Interesting article. Nice Christmas arrangement, too!

Oh, I saw those amaryllis bulbs at Lowe's but to be honest I am appalled and repelled by it. Reminded me of the poor succulents that gets spray painted or glittered.

I guess to have it like a temporary, seasonal cut-flower decor is okay. But for overall growth later, it does need to be properly planted in soil or whatever means you prefer, so it can grow its foliage and return to the bulb the energy it needs for next season.

Nice presentation though, that aspect is pretty.

Tarev is quite right, you won't salvage those bulbs, the plant must grow a new bulb each year. So you need to take off the wax and plant the bulb where it can grow roots and leaves to re-generate a bulb for next year. Directions are in a previous article on the home page.

They did bloom very nicely, and your arrangement was lovely.

This leaves me shaking my head. I haven't seen wax encased Amaryllis bulbs before. Its a great idea for people who just want a Xmas Amaryllis. However, In terms of keeping the bulb long term, the wax would definitely need to be removed. I will be interested to learn if anyone is successful in salvaging one of these bulbs.

I have had success with these. I have bought huge amaryllis bulbs with the metal attached to the bottom thinking it was just for the Christmas season. I put it in a glass vase with some stones in the bottom just covering the metal base and kept water just above the root line never letting it get low. It bloomed beautifully. After the bloom faded I cut the stalk and the green tops continued to grow. I kept the water just above the roots and in late spring dug a hole in the garden where I plant other amaryllis, watered the hole well and put the big bulb with the green tops in it. It continued to grow that summer and the next year it did bloom. I think keeping it watered until I could get it into the soil and then it having all summer to make bloom energy helped.

Barbara - I am wondering the same thing! BTW - You have an amazing collection of Amaryllis! Almost every amaryllis in the plant database (that has photos) has some beautiful pictures uploaded by you! Wow! You certainly have some rare and beautiful ones! Do you have an amaryllis plant nursery or are you just a collector? What lovely blooming amaryllis photos! Thank you for sharing them in the database! I could look through those all day!

Bonnie - Good info to know! Do you peel the wax off first or does it just naturally deteriorate?

It blows my mind that these bulbs are tossed after Christmas! Can you imagine. ugh!

@Seedfork, yes they are rather short. I really had no idea how they would do. I'm going to try and salvage them. But I did enjoy them for Christmas.
@beckygardener, thanks! No dirt whatsoever.
@tarev, I know it seems like a waste in a way, but I wasn't going to toss them. I'm going to carefully cut the wax off, check out the condition of the bulbs, and then replant them in soil and keep them inside in a warm spot in indirect light and see what happens.
@dyzzy and @pyxxy and @bsharf DITTO! on what I told tarev.
@grannysgarden, glad to hear that. If the plants continues to grow inside, when it gets warm I'll move them outside onto the deck and continue to water and feed them. Then late August, I'll start holding back on watering. Come late September I'll bring them back indoors and let them rest in a cool, dark place. Hopefully, if they they start to produce new growth AGAIN, I'll try letting them bloom indoors naturally. Keeping my fingers crossed.

And if they do not bloom the first year just keep up the regimen of feeding and moving them outdoors in the summer and you should be rewarded with blooms.

The first time I bought an amaryllis from a big box store they had gone on sale after Christmas and were really cheap. they were in pretty bad condition and the lady marking seasonal stuff down said they were going to be thrown out. Why not buy a beautiful bulb and give it a chance to do what it is destined to do. Having it survive to bloom in subsequent years was a big bonus. Now I have a small collection that I add to each year.

Yes, I take the wax off. I was afraid water would get between the wax and the bulb and cause it to rot. These are such resilient plants. Just give them half a chance and you will reap great rewards.

My most recent one was growing in a southern window in December. Its bloom stalk was almost 18" high when my youngest grandson crawled up on the sofa, put a firm little hand gently around the stalk and lifted it right out of its pot. He turned and said "Granny, what is this?". I gently took it from him and told him all about it. I put it back in the pot and two weeks later here is what we had.

Grand Cru


The green leaves are now almost 18" tall. smiles

Bonnie - I love your story! My 4 year old granddaughter was out in my garden with her uncle (my younger son). She saw one of my amaryllis blooming and loved it, so my son cut the flower and gave it to her! Argh! I wanted to say something to my son, but my granddaughter loved the flower so much I decided to just smile and bite my tongue.

BTW - Your Grand Cru is gorgeous!!! I saw that one in the database and it made me gasp!

Edited to add: Please submit that to the plant database! It's a must-see photo!

Becky, I've seen them sold as cut flowers, and they last almost as long in a vase as they do on the plant, so maybe it wasn't such a waste for your granddaughter to have that flower anyway?

I find the amaryllis bulbs quite forgiving, provided it has not turned too mushy or rotten or diseased beyond redemption, so document how it recovers Jane. I love doing that too, trying out different ways to grow a plant, but within acceptable limits of course. I do have my own ongoing experiment, just growing the amaryllis bulb in clayrocks and water in a glass container. So far it works, plant is alive and it just follows springtime bloom period now.

And I have seen too at my mom's place, well, they do not really know how to grow the bulb so they have left it sitting in water, really, looks like the bulb is drowning in a glass container with lots of yucky algae growing with it, but it is by the window. Surprisingly the bulb is alive, still firm to the touch. I guess as long as it has been able to grow roots, it will fight for its life.