Planting Amaryllis Bulbs

Our last blog was about amaryllis bulbs and noting that this is the time of year to purchase the bulbs due to their greater availability at the garden centers as well as the ability to be shipped before the freezing temperatures.
　
I prefer to purchase the bulbs bare-rooted due to the fact the bulbs are generally larger, almost always guaranteed to bloom, and I can select the container to plant the bulbs.

As you can see in the following diagram, amaryllis bulbs are not planted deep like other bulbs. Rather the crown of the bulb remains above the soil line.

Though I did not go into details, there are vases available that a bare-rooted bulb is in a water mix and then after blooming generally discarded. (Hyacinths are often times forced to bloom in much the same way.)  I like to save the bulbs and as noted in an earlier blog, I keep the bulb outside during the summer months, bring it inside for a several month period in a cool dry low-light area and then bring it out again in the later part of January.
　
When the bulb is starting to grow, the flower buds are very pronounced and the leaves are very slender. Sometimes there is initial confusion of distinguishing a leaf from a bud, but very shortly they are easy to note the differences.