Question: My husband gave me a Red Lion Amaryllis as a pre-X-mas gift. It did bloom and 1 boom has died, at the lower end of that bloom there is a bulb thing. Are there seeds in it, are they fertle? There are 3 more blooms left. How can I get seeds from that Flower Bulb?
Hardiness Zone: 8a
Thank you for any info you have,
Sherry from Valdosta, GA
Answer: Hi Sherry,
The bulb your amaryllis is growing from can be thought of as an underground "seed." Technically it's not a seed, but it does contain everything the plant will need to grow and sprout more flowers. If you were to split the bulbs in half, in the center you would see a tiny immature bud surrounded by leaves. In turn, white meaty "scales" surround the leaves. These scales contain all of the food necessary for growing a new plant. They provide plants with the capacity for underground food storage.
With a little care, after the flowers on your amaryllis die back, you can save the bulb and make it flower again. As soon as the old flowers are spent, cut them from the stem. Once the stem starts to die back, cut back to the top of the bulb and remove the bulb from the soil. Clean off any remaining dirt and place the bulb in a cool (40-50ºF), dark place for a minimum of 6 weeks. This gives the bulb the dormant period it needs before it produces another plant. The crisper in your refrigerator will work well for storage, as long as you remember to keep pears and apples out while your bulb is in storage. These fruits give off ethylene gas as they ripen that renders flower bulbs sterile.
After 6 weeks, remove the bulb from the refrigerator and replant it outdoors (in spring), or in another pot. You supply the growing medium and water and the bulb will do the rest!
Ellen
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