Did you receive an amaryllis bulb for the holidays? Are you wondering what to do with it? I know that it is best to plant the bulb with 1/3 of it protruding out of the potting medium. But why does an amaryllis bulb need to be above the soil line?
I had never thought about it too much before, but a couple of nights ago, I woke up and started thinking about it. Do you wake up and think about houseplants? I do.
Buying an amaryllis bulb
First, let’s buy a bulb. You can find bulbs from $5 to $50 and more if you buy them with a decorative pot.
The bigger the bulb, the more money, but you will also get more flowers. So, buy the biggest bulb your budget will allow.
The picture above shows the difference between a $5 bulb in a 4″ pot and an $18 bulb in a 6″ pot.
The pot should be less than 1″ bigger than the diameter of the bulb, as the bulb likes to be snug in the pot. The small less expensive bulb has one flower stalk and it will be the only one that it will have. Next year it will be larger and may send out more flowers. The larger bulb may send up 2-3 flower stalks.
Planting the amaryllis bulb
So now we come to the planting of the bulb. Many people may assume the bulb needs to be buried like a tulip or daffodil.
Well, we can’t plant amaryllis bulbs like those bulbs or we would have to have a pot a foot deep or more. Luckily, the amaryllis needs to be planted with its “shoulders” sticking out of the potting medium.
One-third of the bulb would like to be sticking out. The question I’m asking is why? I did some research.
Why do amaryllis bulbs need to stick out?
I’ve always assumed that the reason was the bulb would rot if planted too deep. If the water were to get down into the crown of the bulb, it could rot the bulb.
It does rain in South America where they are from, so rain gets into the crown of the bulb, right? Yet, it may grow on a slant or under the canopy of trees where the rain doesn’t make its way into the crown.
There is heat and wind which would also help the water evaporate faster. So let’s put that out of our minds.
There are no houseplants. All plants grow outside somewhere. If we can give them conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible, they will grow better. But, I digress. Back to why planted amaryllis bulbs need to stick out of the soil.
Because…
There is a disease that affects amaryllis bulbs called red splotch disease or Peyronellaea curtisii. (It was Stagonospora curtisii –Wow! It’s not just plant names that change…
Here are some pictures of what it looks like.
It is a fungus and we all know damp and warm conditions are what fungi prefer. This fungus can survive in the neck of the bulb and on infested foliage.
When the leaves or flower stalks push up through the bulb scales, injury can occur. In the picture above, the flower stalks are already out and the leaves are up about 2″ tall. As they grow, if injured, it will invite the spores of the fungus to enter the plant and begin to grow.
So keeping the neck dry is helpful in keeping that fungus at bay. Apply a fungicide, but If it gets too bad, the plant is better discarded.
Why amaryllis bulbs stick out of the soil
So now we know why we need to plant them high. To keep that neck dry and keep fungus and rot from affecting our plants. Good to know.
Read here for after bloom care of your amaryllis.
Have a great week, plant friends!
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Good timing for this article! I received an amaryllis for Christmas and potted it right up to the stem. The next day I read it in or article, dug that guy up and repotted it properly! Thanks, and I’ll let you know how it grows!
Colleen,
So glad I could help! I know your plant will appreciate being replanted. Lisa
How long can a bulb be out of ground or non potted? My son dug his up and gave all of them to me.
Hi Brenda,
They are kept out of the soil for quite a while by the sellers. It is best to keep them cool so they don’t start growing. If it starts growing, I would get it into soil so it can get its roots established.
Lisa
I also just received an amaryllis bulb and did not know what to do with it because it didn’t come with any instructions. Thank you for the information in this article!
Hi Lynn,
I’m so glad I could help! Have a great day!
Lisa
How often do you water it?
Hi Cheryl,
I water when I feel its dry down an inch or two. I don’t let it stand in water or dry out completely. Hope that is helpful.
Lisa
Is the right time to water in after it blooms how often times should I water my amaryllis? Thank you, mary
Hi Mary,
You can water it in after you first plant it and then don’t water it again until it starts growing and the soil dries down. I water it when it dries down a couple inches. Don’t let it completely dry out.
Lisa
I bought my mom an armaryllis bulb. It started to put out all.kind of green leaves which are now almost 12 inches tall but no flower or flower stalk. She’s had it now for a little over 2 weeks. What’s wrong? Is there anything that she may have done wrong? Please help.
Hi Michal,
I’m sorry this is so late. It may be that it won’t bloom this year as it may have been an immature bulb and needs to grow more before it will flower. Let the leaves grow as long as you can so they can to help the bulb grow and mature. Let me know how it is doing-did it eventually send out a flower stalk?
Lisa
I live in Indiana and received a Amaryllis bulb as a gift. I did all the necessary things I read to prepare it for planting. I planted it but there was only a few days of sun so I decided to put the plant under a grow light and it worked. It’s grown so tall that I pull it away so it doesn’t touch the top of the grow light. Can’t wait for it to bloom.
Hi Sharon,
I’m so glad your bulb is doing well! They are so beautiful. Enjoy it!
Lisa
I gave my mom a bulb for Christmas but it is sitting on top of rocks. Is that ok?
Hi Sherry,
I’m not sure what that means. Maybe it is growing hydroponically…? That would be fine, but it may not be able to brought back into bloom next year. If you could send a picture to my email- lisa@thehouseplantguru.com.
Lisa