Well, that was successful.
Lisey got an amaryllis-bulb-in-a-box kit the Christmas before last from her grandma, and after it bloomed, we decided to try planting it outside to see if it would survive.
It did.
And Lisey is pleased.
(Luckily for us, amaryllises are vole-resistant, so we don't have to worry about the bulb suddenly going missing. Yay!)
I saw one of you husbands shirts was LL Bean. They have 100% satisfaction guaranteed on their items. You can return them at any time. Not sure if you have a store near you - if not I would call them and speak to customer service. I have had great experiences with them taking back items that wear poorly or become damaged.
I didn't think it would survive in the mid-Atlantic! Now I know what to do with mine.
We were nervous, especially after the very cold temps we had, but apparently the bulb is pretty hardy.
When did you plant it out? Was it after the really cold weather? Because I would not have thought it would survive a winter. But certainly I would have given it a try outside. You had nothing to lose. My parents used to get one every Christmas. but they had a greenhouse and they would come back every year. My mother had the proverbial Green Thumb.
I believe we planted it outside late last summer, actually!
I am hoping she had the thrill of something growing and coming back and living. My husband and I were standing admiring our very hard worked and earned back yard which we have nurtured through our drought. It was nice to see the green, the color, and some volunteers!
Yes! She was nervous about planting it outside, and relieved to see it come back. It's pretty large, so keeping it indoors was going to be a problem.
I buy these every year after Christmas on clearance, thoroughly enjoy them through the late winter, plant them in the spring & never see a bloom again. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I've never been able to get them to bloom in my garden.
Beautiful.
We live up north, and we plant our amaryllis bulb in the ground for the summer, then bring it inside again for winter, let it go dormant then force it to bloom again inside. Having time outdoors after its bloomed is good for the plant so it can replenish its nutrients. I'm sure in the south it's a different story. Looks pretty!
What do you do about voles? We are not experienced with them, but they are tearing up the yard. Also, we have little children to consider when fixing the vole problem. Thanks, Jennie
If you're getting lumpy trails in your yard, then that's a mole problem, not a vole problem. Voles will leave round holes in the yard, but they don't make lumpy bumps!
There's not much to do about voles, sadly. I hear poisons don't work really well. The voles aren't dangerous, but ugh, it is super frustrating when they eat my plants.