Amaryllis - no water for two months yet the leaves refuse to brown

I have two Amaryllis bulbs, one of which flowered around January while the other formed a flower bud at the base late last year which then refused to grow and the bud turned brown (it was the second 'season' for the latter bulb since I had it, it had flowered just fine the previous year).

Anyhow, I've not watered the two bulbs the about two months and the leaves still look as green and healthy as ever.

Both are inside in a west facing window.

I understand that the leaves should be left to turn brown before cutting them back to around an inch, then popping the bulbs into the fridge for two to three months, then pot them up to get them growing again, but how long should it be before the leaves turn brown? At this rate they'll be flowering next Summer ......

 

I'm guessing we are really talking about hippeastrum often called Amaryllis.
I usually flower them in summer and keep them growing until about October and then dry them off before starting into growth as the weather warms up in April.

I know when you buy them they are mostly sold for winter flowering but I dont think that is very natural.

 

I've grown them several times, currently got two in the greenhouse in full leaf, they were dormant over the winter and came into leaf in May and I expect the tops to die down late autumn/winter. I'll stop watering and feeding mid to late September, cut the leaves off when they are brown and shrivelled, they'll come back into growth next spring.
In the past I've had flowers spring, summer and winter, from different plants, not winter though, central heating set too low.
They flower after a cool resting spell, so when you bring it into the living room (c21°C) it comes into flower and then the leaves appear.

 

Thanks. My issue is that, despite not being watered for two months, I'm surprised that the leaves haven't yet turned brown.

 

I suspect it will at some point.
They never seem to be thirsty plants to me.
I Also think they can be grown as an evergreen, just cutting off the leaves that get old and withered.
When growing from seed I read it was best not to dry them off until the bulbs reached flowering size.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

I've been growing them for a great many years, getting them to bloom again year after years, even when I've grown them from seed.

You really should keep their leaves growing as long as possible. Like all bulbs the energy for next years flowers is stored in the bulb this year & that energy comes from its leaves. If you remove the leaves before they have had time to store energy in the bulb you will get very poor flowers, in any, the following year.

Those that flower around Christmas are treated bulbs, like the Christmas flowering Hyacinths & Daffs. In fact their natural time here in the UK coincides with our spring, rather like Daffs. They can be made to flower at any time of the year which makes them popular with florists, supermarkets & GCs.

I have more than a dozen bulbs, all growing leaves, on the balcony. They flowered months ago & I will leave them out on the balcony till late October/early November before bringing them back in.

There is no need to put them in the fridge for 3 months! I've never, ever done that. Just 3 months on a cold windowsill or in a cupboard (frost free!) & being kept dry will result in them flowering their heads off next year. They don't need light, just a dry, cold rest period to flower again.

When watering never let them sit in a saucer with water for more than a few hours otherwise the roots could rot & maybe the bulb as well. Amaryllis have thick white fleshy roots which store water as well as in the bulb itself. If these are in water for prolonged periods of time they will rot. They much prefer to be a bit on the dry side rather than sitting in a pot of cold wet compost.

They still need watering & feeding all the time the leaves are growing but I always stop feeding & watering mine about the time of the autumn equinox (21st September). The leaves can continue to be green for months after, but if they are unsightly or a nuisance where you want to keep them over winter you can cut the leaves off a few months after you stop watering them. The leaves don't always turn yellow or brown even after months without a single drop of water! But a few months after stopping watering they can be cut off or left on. It doesn't seem to affect flowering as I've had plants whose leaves have not died back till the new flower bud emerges from the bulb!

 

Thanks for the excellently detailed advice. :-)

 

Hi

turn the pots on their side ... soon stop growing