In the Garden

Dead in the Water

January

Don’t you hate it when plants just up and die on you?

You do everything right and then you watch them peter out right before your eyes.

Here are four amaryllis bulbs that I potted up in early December—then nothing. Not one sign of green or new growth.

As you may remember from an earlier post, these were bulbs that I dutifully took proper care of since last Christmas. No matter.

My best guess is that they froze to death when I was away for 10 days in early December. I turned the heat way down and they were in a very cold mud room right by a drafty back door.

Some very good gardeners I know say never give up on a plant until you kill it at least three times.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm by Bill Cary.
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2 Responses to “Dead in the Water”

Bill Cary January 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Thought I’d share a nice email from Mary Murphy of Tarrytown:

Hi Bill: I like the sage advice to “never give up on a plant until you kill it at least three times”. After all, patience (in gardening) is a virtue. These Amaryllis bulbs look viable to me, so I think you should just wait it out a bit longer. Although I think that 4 to a pot may be too many – perhaps not enough nutrients or moisture for all four – so I would repot with 2 to a pot (I usually plant only 1 bulb per pot).

I purchased a brand new, and very large, Amaryllis bulb from a reputable nursery in October. I didn’t want to pot it up for quite a while because I had a couple already potted and starting to grow, and I wanted to enjoy beautiful blooms well into the winter. So, I kept the new bulb in our unheated garage and kept checking on it to ensure it didn’t rot or wither. It remained in good shape, so I potted it up in early December (thoroughly soaking the roots first). Ditto as far as nothing happening – until this past weekend. I checked on it again and was pleasantly surprised to finally see the tip of a new leaf starting to emerge from the bulb. I figured that since it had stayed dormant for an extended period that it needed additional time to “wake up”. It is on the coffee table in the living room and receives bright sunshine for a few hours a day, however, I’ll move it to a cooler spot once it blooms.

I hope that you will enjoy success with your Amaryllis as well. Let us all know.
Bill Cary January 24th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
And from Ed Impara of Ossining:

Never give up. Yes, they may have frozen but try this first before giving up hope – separate the bulbs and pot each one up in its own pot. Use a pot that is just a half to one inch larger than the diameter of the bulb. Use fresh “soil” and firm it in place. Give it only one watering with warm water and wait.

If the bulbs are still viable, some green should start to sprout in a few weeks. It might be only leaves but it could be the flower bud you seek.

Ed

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