Rebloom Your Amaryllis Bulb > Cheryl J Shenkle

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Rebloom Your Amaryllis Bulb

Cheryl J Shenkle

PSU Jefferson County Master Gardener

December 2022

Getting an Amaryllis to re-bloom is dependent on the size of the bulb, how well it was fed the summer before, and if it experienced sufficient dormancy.  It must also be repotted in fresh potting soil then given about 3-4 weeks at room temperature to send up the scapes which are the flowering stalks.

Waxed Amaryllis are not intended to live beyond the current year because the rooting Basal Plate has been cut off before being waxed.  The flower will still open but like a rose in a vase, there is no way for the bulb to grow roots again.

A box store Amaryllis is fed just enough to bloom through the current season, so even with good follow up care, it may take a year or more to return the bulb to blooming weight again.

In order for a purchased Amaryllis bulb to bloom the following year, once it is done blooming at Christmas, remove the faded flowers immediately at about ½ inch from the bulb.  Place plant into a slightly larger pot with large drainage holes and treat like a tropical plant in a bright window with partial sun.  Feed lightly and keep watered.  Once the outside temperatures are about 50 degrees with no frost at night, it’s time to send it outdoors for the summer to build up the newly developing flower cells for the next winter blooms. It will need a sunny location with a little shelter from the hot afternoon sun. You can also set the entire plant with the pot into a garden bed where it will be fed and watered.

It must eat like a pig all growing season. Use a quality liquid 10-10-10 fertilizer at half strength when watering from March till flowering begins or slow release 2-3 times a growing season.

Once the temperatures start to drop, before a frost, bring the plant into a cool brightly lit window. It will need 8 weeks of rest in order to force the bloom, then 3-4 weeks to actually bloom. If you have followed all the care instructions and the bulb is as well fed as possible, in completely dry soil and sitting in a cold dark location, then after growing time it will be ready to bloom again.

To force dormancy, take the entire plant with the root ball out of the pot and onto a newspaper. It should dry out fairly quickly. Once you are sure that the soil and bulb are completely dry, then place plant back into the pot and set in a cold dark closet, cool garage or dry basement that stays between 40-50 degrees for 8 weeks.  Do not water it!  This will put the bulb to sleep and preserve the life inside of the bulb without danger of rot from moisture.  Do not store in a refrigerator where there are apples.

Once rested properly, replant the bulb in fresh planting medium and return to a low 70s location in bright but not direct sun which could burn the new leaves.  Water once but not again till you see leaves.  It will begin producing flower stems which should bloom in approximately 3-4 weeks.  After blooming, return to treating it like a Tropical plant.    

Tropical Plants with No dormancy required!  My Amaryllis lovelies are planted in a large deep window box that goes out into my deck garden all summer and back into the house to the front window for the winter.  Right now in early December they are developing stems and buds. Once they are done flowering, I reduce watering slightly till about March.  They can remain in that container for years as long as they are not too crowded and are fed and watered properly. 

In a cold commercial greenhouse near me, the owner had about 50 bulbs in a very large garden pot.  They automatically bloomed for years and people came from all over to photograph it.  Remember that in the tropics, Amaryllis grow outdoors all year unbothered and successfully figure out when to bloom themselves with just a cool spell in which to rest.

Although the stores assume you will have given up, tossed your Amaryllis and will buy another one the next December, you won’t have to because you already have a healthy bulb to spoil and fatten up all summer. 

If you have more questions, please submit them to the Master Gardener Garden Hotline at 814-849-7361 Ext 508 and a call will be returned to you.

We will also do presentations for any group making a request.  We look forward to suggestions for articles also.

Master Gardener Classes will begin again in early October, so if you have ever dreamed of spending time working in Horticulture with friends, this is your chance.

Certified Master Gardeners are local volunteers trained by Penn State to answer Horticulture questions with properly researched information. For a “best practices” answer to your question, call Penn State Jefferson County Extension to leave a message at 849-7361, Ext 508, e-mail cjs5618@psu.edu, or mail your question to 186 Main Street, Suite 3, Brookville, PA 15825. 

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