Amaryllis lily

Hello! I have a beautiful amaryllis lily on my window sill; it is in a pot and has two stalks. One stalk has flowered and has two widely opened blooms, and two just coming into bloom. The other stalk has not flowered yet, it is clearly in the early stages but possibly won't get much further as presumably the other stalk has beaten it to most of the nutrients and so on. My question is: should I leave the plant as it is - it's perfect to look at and the existing blooms are lovelier than I expected - or try to divide the plant by knifing into the bulb or prizing the stalks apart? This might risk damage to the healthy stalk, but then again I might prolong the life of both if I divide?
No photographs regrettably. I'm very bad with cameras. Thanks.

 

If we are talking about the Hippeastrum? then you are severely underestimating the reserves that the bulb holds it will continue to flower well even from the second flower stalk I have a had a succession of flowers from mine this year and I have had a total of 3 separate stalks each with at least 3 flowers a piece! what I usually do is as each flower stalk finishes I remove it at about and inch above the bulb so the plant can put the rest of its energy into more flowers (no seed etc.) once flowering has completely finished it will get a regular watering with a general purpose houseplant food.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=118

 

Hey thanks - yes, hat's the one! I should have been more specific. I really appreciate your advice. Can you tell me anything about how I should care for the plant "once flowering has completely finished," as you say ... of course I could look it up but its always valuable to hear directly from those who've had personal experience.

 

Someone in the Poole/Torquay area actually had this growing outside for number of years, but I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you live in an excellent microclimate.

As for care, I haven't had one before but my informed guess is treat like a true Amaryllis. I'm not entirely sure but the only difference between Hippeastrum and a true Amaryllis is that Hippeastrum retain leaves when flowering, whilst Amaryllis leaves die out leaving only the flower.

Hippeastrum may have a dormancy period around Spring to early summer... though I can not be sure, again only an educated guess.

If that is the case then keep the bulb well watered in summer?

I could just be making this up to be honest but it sounds similar to something I've done before with a tender Ornithogalum, which has a similar growing trait to the Hippeastrum

 

Quite simply, water until the leaves start to turn yellow. At this point reduce watering and stop watering when the leaves have died. The foliage stage after flowering is important to build the bulbs strength up.
When new foliage or flower buds appear start to water again, lightly at first.

Amaryllis belladonna maybe?

 

It was Hippeastrum I saw, on an exotic gardening forum.. I'm trying to trace the post.. but having difficulty. I saw a photo, but its all quite a blurred memory I'm afraid

 

I would plant them outside for the summer in their second year, onwards. If you buy, or are given, a prepared bulb each year for Xmas, say, then in a few years you will have a nice display in the garden each summer too.

Bring in, and store, for the winter.

For your flowering one I would feed with Tomato fertilizer or similar whilst it is flowering.

 

I had to ask as I planted three outdoors last autumn!
I planted them on gravel 25cm deep. They are at an angle of about 45° to hopefully stop rot. Hopefully they're deep enough to stay warm enough. The biggest problem that I can see is that the soil may not warm up enough that deep to initiate growth?

 

I'm not sure, as I thought they were a tender bulb and would take very little/no frost. They do strike me in the same bracket as the likes of Ornithogalum thyrsoides.. very difficult to get to grow back even if they are hardy enough for the location. Still it's worth a try! Sometimes plants operate better when they're not mollycoddled.

 

Ditto!
Then I read something about growing them outdoors in the States in zones 7/8. As I knew where there were some bulbs for a quid I went for it! When I had to dig a deep hole during the cold spell I was surprised how warm it was when I went down a few inches. The tilting the bulbs bit was a refinement I made as a nod to the potential dampness of the UK winter..................

 

I have grown them out side, but they never really established, although they do survive.
Flowers are in summer, but I found they dont actually get a long enough growing season after flowering, before frost, to bulk up the bulbs.

The ones I have in the greenhouse are virtually evergreen although I dont water after sept.
Must admit I've neglected them a bit in recent years.

 

The flowers are fading and withering now. The plant has tipped over in its pot. I have propped it up in a bucket but it is clearly on its last legs for this year, so the question is what should I do now? Should I snip the stalks off and store the bulbs?

 

Yes - snip the flower stem off.
Put it to bed only when the foliage is finished and you've allowed it to dry out properly.

 

Would I be daft to try to let them seed (assuming that they have pollinated)?

Would I ever get flowering sized bulbs?

I've sown self-collected seed of Lilium regale this winter, I got hundreds of seeds ... on the assumption that in 5 or so years I'll have a little forest of Lillies

But maybe that's a bit optimistic for an Amaryllis in the UK?

I'd be happy to try chopping a sacrificial bulb up for chipping or twin-scaling if anyone reckons that that might work (again, in the UK climate, although I can look after them in an unheated greenhouse / overwintering dormant indoors or something along those lines)

 

I know someone on another forum who has grown many from seed - three to four years to blooms.