Ammocharis longifolia - pot culture advice

Leo A. Martin leo@possi.org
Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:22:14 PDT
> ...cannot decide whether I should "water in" the newly potted bulb.

> And does "water in" mean saturate or just dampen?

> I did not cut off its roots prior to planting.

Yes, water heavily to saturate, once. Watering in is to settle the soil
around the roots. Even summer-dormant amaryllids don't want their roots to
dry out too much or the roots will die. Then it takes longer to grow in
the fall because they must grow new roots. I have wondered whether
irregular Amaryllis beladonna flowering in the hot western USA can be
traced to roots dying in hot, dry summers. (I water mine every week or two
but flowering is still very irregular year to year. Same with red Lycoris,
which seem not to be flowering this year.)

After watering in put it someplace in the house to dry, cool, not outside
in the hot sun.

Don't ever cut the thick white roots of bulbs. It's OK to remove dry brown
ones.

As others here have mentioned about Ammocharis, it tends to be an
opportunistic grower, whenever it gets water. So don't be surprised if
yours begins growing right after potting up. A small plant like that will
probably do better on a windowsill for the first few years at least.

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA




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