It's Amaryllis time again!!!

[NYCorchidman]

The first scape is spent. I do not cut off anything but just pinch off the spent blooms and wait for the scape dry up on its own.
I cut once before and tons of sap came out!

Anyways, there was this small tip of another scape emerging, but then it stopped growing further. Instead, a third one got out of nowhere and is developing nicely!

Dancing Queen!!!

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Oh wow, Gervase is nice!!! Yup Royal Colors is Dutch, they're from a town next to Keukenhof Gardens. And they have papilio!!

Papilio is a wonderful species... I have a group, known as a clister, with about 25 bulbs, half of them blooming size. They require a very large pot.

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Ryan- Wow~ you make your own hybrids?? That is so cool! I'm too lazy for that. Enought nice hybrids for me to shop out there still. After I buy them all, maybe I will begin making my own too whenever that will be. hahaha
I really wish I had a castle sized home to grow lots of hippies (as you call it).

So, Ryan, you bought from royal colors? I found their website while internet surfing last year and actually corresponded with the owner back and forth. He was very nice and the fact that they ship to US is just super! hmmmm now I'm really tempted! ha~

Yes, I tried my hand at it a few times. I had my first successful bloom last year and named it after my wife. It is a rich red with darker red veining with slender petals. It has an exotic look to it, not like the noble hybrids you get from Europe. The cross is between an heirloom hippie... I forget its name right now...and Tosca. I think it got its colors from Tosca and the shape from the heirloom.

[NYCorchidman]

Sounds great, Ryan!

So everyone, my benfica with its second stalk being in amazing display is working on the third stalk, which I just spotted this morning.
It was a nice surprise. Two was good for me, but I don't mind three.

[NYCorchidman]

Aphrodite and two Show Master deep in sleep.
I think these guys will wake up some time next month, or so I expect.

One of the Show Master has a bulblet developing inside with two leaves that refuse to go to sleep.

Just for fun, I went around and measured the diameter of these bulbs.
Aphrodite 41cm (so this is considered a jumbo size, I was surprised myself!), and the other two are around 33.

[fotofashion]

NYCorchidman: That old variety you mention is H. johnsonii. In our area they take the place of tulips. They return year after year and multiply well. In clusters they are really beautiful. I have (or at least, had) quite a few of them. I'll see come spring if the drought last year affected them much.
I never plant an amaryllis in a pot, here they do just fine in the ground.
Beverly A.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by fotofashion

NYCorchidman: That old variety you mention is H. johnsonii. In our area they take the place of tulips. They return year after year and multiply well. In clusters they are really beautiful. I have (or at least, had) quite a few of them. I'll see come spring if the drought last year affected them much.
I never plant an amaryllis in a pot, here they do just fine in the ground.
Beverly A.

You're in Houston, so amaryllis will grow outside all year long I guess.

Thanks for the name, I just googled up some image under that name and yes, that is exactly the variety my aunt used to grow. She had them in her planter and they grew like weeds.

I love the red on it. The closest in color pattern is Beauty Bell that I found on one of the online vendors. It is almost the same but larger and more round shaped modern hybrid.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Nice hippes everyone! I have a few, but just thing's I've gotten from the grocery store over the years. They jsut finished blooming but I didn't get a pic. three are the standard red color, and one is the typical pink and white splash. I'd like to get some more named varieties though!

Question for all you guys, do the leaves on yours fall over once they reach a certain height? The leaves on mine fall over every single year, they just get to heavy. Any ideas why?

[NYCorchidman]

Mine do not fall over. Falling over of leaves indicate not enough light, hence the weak droopy leaves.

While they will still grow under less than ideal light, the growth and flowering won't be as great.

Full light all day being ideal, at least half day full sun is needed for good growth and flowering.

If you are already giving them the best light possible, then falling over can happen when they get hit by strong wind.

[RosieC]

Wow, great Hipistratums, love them!

I have a NoID one similar to the Monaco you have a picture of. It's still dormant in the greenhouse just now, will have to bring it in and start watering to get it going. I've let it grow side bulbs which is not usually advised (to put all the energy in the main pulb) but I got fed up of keep removing them.

I read somewhere that the number of leaves you get one year directly relates to the number of flowers the following year. I think it was something like 8 leaves for a spike with 4 flowers the following year. Don't know if it's true but it certainly is true that the better it grows one year the better the flowering the next and the relation of 8 leaves for 4 flowers certainly seemed to hold for me for a few years. I didn't care for it well last year and only had 3 leaves... so not expecting much from it this year.

My MIL always buys them for flowering them throws them away. She was really surprised at Christmas this year when we told her we still had the one she had given us years ago and that if you let it grow after flowering it would come back up the next year. She thought they needed specialist care to flower again (which is actually what I thought about orchids with my first one )