Producing Amaryllis Offsets

Amaryllis Apple Blossom babies(Amaryllis 'Apple Blossom' "babies")

I saw a large grouping of white amaryllis that was really wonderful, the owner claimed he had gotten new starts (mini bulbs?) off of the old one. My amaryllis have never done that, any ideas???- Mumm


A large clump of Amaryllids growing together and flowering at the same time is an impressive sight. There is no specific reason why your Amaryllis has never produced any offsets some do and some don't. The photo of the Amaryllis "babies" above is from my Amaryllis 'Apple Blossom' that when I purchased it had two offsets already attached. This year the offsets have produced offsets of their own as you can see from the photograph. An Amaryllis 'Red Lion' that I purchased at the same time hasn't produced any offsets since I bought it and have been growing it.

To increase the chance of offset production in your Amaryllis grow them in larger pots, fertilize them well during the growing season and give them plenty of sunlight. The other thing you can do is purchase Amaryllis cultivars that are known to readily produce offsets. Finally, what you can always 'fake it' by planting two or three of the same bulb in a large pot.

11 comments:

  1. I have an Hippeastrum that has 8 offsets growing and I've had it for 10 years.
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  2. Thanks for your ideas, I may just watch for a sale and grab a few more bulbs, I've had mine several years and do try to fertilize them, but no 'babies' yet!
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  3. Hi Muum,

    Thanks for the question and I hope the answer helped.
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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.
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  5. I'm now wondering about the photo of your bulb and offsets. The bulbs are bare-root. Do you do that purposefully (for the photo or annually)?
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  6. Shady,

    I do it because I don't have room to keep them potted in my house. So I take them out of the pot and remove the soil to get rid of the bugs that crept in during the spring/summer and keep them in paper bags.
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  7. Wow a great place to visit, I have a question about Amaryllis I have had 1 bulb for 10-15 years It had 1 baby, it never seems to grow in size nor does the baby I fertilize regularly and they get plenty of light ,the older 1 does flower and they do rest for 8-10 weeks. what can I do to make my bulbs grow?
    Thanks so much for any help you can give me. Smiliemomma
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  8. I have several amaryllis that have "babies" attached. The "little ones" do not bloom. Only the "mothers" bloom. Do they just need to get to be a larger size? should they be potted separately? some of the "babies" are several (3-5) years old.
    Thanks in advance for your advice!
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  9. Is it true that cutting off the offsets will help the parent bloom bigger?
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  10. I will be moving in June and would like to take my amarylis with me. Can I go ahead and dig up the bulbs now? These have been in the ground for about 2o years and have never been taken out of the ground. By the way, I am in TN.
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  11. how long must I wait for the seedlings to flower. I have dozens that I planted this spring or late last year
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