If you've read this blog at all during the winter months, you know how important Amaryllis bulbs are for getting me thru that cold, bleak (long) season. To get the best performance out of my bulbs, I take meticulous (almost obsessive) care of them throughout the rest of the year. Summering them outdoors, where they are fertilized almost daily, then repotting, dividing and replanting them in fall (with fresh, high quality, potting soil) before taking them down to my basement for dormancy. Repotting is the ideal time to separate any "bulblets" from the parent bulb. This is a great way to share bulbs or increase your own collection (if you don't mind multiples of the same bulb or you have particular favorites).
Last week I finally started preparing my bulbs for dormancy ~ this needs to be done before the first frost ~ some years later or earlier than others. We're having a wonderful extended warm period this fall so I've put the task off as long as possible. The first thing I do when repotting is determine whether any of the offshoot bulbs are big enough to be separated and replanted. Amaryllis 'Melusine' below has a bulblet (on right) almost the size of the parent bulb:
Untangle the roots carefully then repot both bulbs in separate containers. Most likely, both bulbs will bloom this winter. I'll keep you posted!
Amaryllis 'Pink Lady' (below) was exceptionally productive this summer, with three bulblets (besides the parent) in one container!
Maybe it's easier to see if we zoom in a little closer:
I certainly don't want four 'Pink Ladies' (as much as I adore that color) but I divided the bulbs anyway:
You can see the bulb on the far right is very small. It's up to you whether to keep or discard a bulb of that size. For now, I repotted them all:
Depending on how the new bulbs do, I will give them as gifts to neighbors, teachers, etc. It might not be this year, I may have to grow them on another season before they are big enough to bloom. I keep my eyes open during the year for sales on small pots, preferably with attached saucers, to make doing this more cost effective.
After the repotting process, I let the Amaryllis settle into their new pots/soil for a few days before I trim all the foliage off the tops and haul them into a dark corner of my basement. From that time on, water very sparingly until you see signs of life emerging (hopefully in the form of a bud).
I've read that bulbs need between 7 to 9 leaves to store enough energy to re-bloom. If your bulb doesn't grow that many leaves during the summer, it may or may not bloom for you during the winter. I had several last year (during our cool, wet, cloudy summer) that did not grow well and consequently, they didn't bloom. Hopefully this year will be better since they've all had a lot of healthy growth and a good crop of leaves.
By the way, another way to divide your Amaryllis is to quarter your bulb ~ just slice it like an onion (in mid summer) and plant all four quarters in separate containers. I am not brave enough to try this but I've read that is a quick and easy way to reproduce them. Anybody out there tried???
