How To Pot Amaryllis Bulbs

(how to pot Amaryllis bulbs)

After you've selected your Amaryllis bulb from a kit or you've received one as a gift the next step is potting your Amaryllis bulb. Most of these bulb kits come with a bulb, plastic pot and a soil disk made from coco peat. The first thing I do is put the round peat disk to the side along with the plastic pot because I don't like to use them when I pot my bulbs.

Choosing a pot for your Amaryllis

I find the plastic pots that come in these Amaryllis kits to be pretty useless because they usually don't have drainage holes and they aren't heavy enough to keep an Amaryllis from falling over. As your Amaryllis produces a flower scape and leaves the top portion of your bulb will be heavier than the plastic pot and the bulb resulting in an Amaryllis plant that topples over. Remember what most Amaryllis roots look like when you first buy your bulb. The roots not only provide water and nutrients to your bulb but they also anchor it into the soil. If your bulb has no roots there is nothing to keep it in place. You'll need to choose a heavy pot with drainage holes, like a clay pot, or at the least put your plastic pot inside of a heavier pot. In the photo above I chose a decorative ceramic pot to start my Amaryllis. A good rule to take into consideration is that your pot should be two inches wider than the circumference of your bulb, don't over pot your bulb before it has produced roots.

Hydrating the roots

If your Amaryllis has roots like in the link above you can sit the roots in warm water for a couple of hours to rehydrate them and wake them up.

Soil for potted Amaryllids

As I mentioned above I don't use the coco peat (round brown disk) that comes in most Amaryllis kits because it isn't a good growing medium for bulbs and most plants in general. If you allow it to go dry it will look and revert back to the state it was in before you set it in water to make it expand. I like to use a general houseplant potting soil like Miracle-Gro that I mix with perlite and this works for me. You can use your favorite brand of houseplant soil and amend it as needed so that your soil is light and airy.

Planting depth of Amaryllids

A good pot for Amaryllis bulbs is 7-8 inches deep to allow room for the roots. Amaryllids produce very large roots and some of the roots on my plants get as thick as my little finger. Place some soil in the bottom of your pot and fill it half way and then position your bulb in the center making sure to spread any roots out radially. Add more soil around the bulb and roots making sure to leave the top one-half to two-thirds of your bulb exposed and above the soil line like I did in the photo above. I like to leave a little extra room (see photo above) between the soil surface and the rim of the pot because when I water the first time some of the soil will settle down and when this happens I can just add a little more soil and top dress the pot.

The first watering of your Amaryllis

After you've potted your Amaryllis bulb give it a good first watering with lukewarm water and make sure all of the excess water drains off. For the first couple of weeks water your bulb sparingly while it works on creating roots below the soil. Remember if the bulb doesn't have roots it isn't taking up water and any extra watering you're doing will only results in a rotted bulb. Place your potted bulb in a bright and warm window and soon you'll be rewarded with a wonderful flower.