Sowing & Germinating Amaryllis Seeds

Amaryllis soil diskOnce you've pollinated your Amaryllis flower and you've chosen the best seeds and made sure they are viable the next step is to sow your Amaryllis seeds and getting them to germinate is pretty easy.

First, make sure the seeds your Amaryllis produced are viable. Some Amaryllis bulbs, for several reasons, may not produce seeds that are viable; meaning they won't germinate and produce a new plant.

The second step is to choose your soil. In my experience Amaryllis seeds can be sown and germinate in any potting medium. I've sown and germinated Amaryllis seeds in houseplant soil, seed starting soil, perlite and the coconut shell fiber disks they give you in the Amaryllis kits. Once you've added some water to the coconut fiber disks they expand and can be used to plant your Amaryllis seeds.


sowing Amaryllis SeedsThe third step is to choose a container in which to sow your Amaryllis seeds. I chose a clear plastic container with a lid that a pastry came in from the grocery store. What you use is up to you but it will work better if the container you use has a lid that you can open and close to ventilate if it gets too moist inside.


sowing amaryllis seeds close upI like to drag a pencil through the coconut fiber to make a little trench where I can stand up the seeds. Sowing your Amaryllis seeds in neat rows makes it easier to remove them later after they have begun to grow roots. If you read my post on viable Amaryllis seeds you'll know that the ones that will germinate have a hard "bump" in them. Make sure the "bump" is covered in the soil mix. The coconut fiber should still be moist but add a little bit of water to the container before closing the lid and place it in a warm and bright area. The Amaryllis seeds should germinate in about four weeks.


germinating Amaryllis seeds in waterOne popular method of sowing and germinating Amaryllis seeds I've seen is to float them in water. It is probably the easiest and less messy method but I haven't had any luck with it but it doesn't hurt to try it if you have extra seeds. All you do is place your amaryllis seeds in a container with water and allow them to float on the surface. I've seen people use bowls, cups and aquariums that weren't housing fish.

If you missed the links above make sure to check out these entries

Sowing & Germinating Amaryllis Seeds- Part 2
How to pollinate Amaryllis flowers.
Viable Amaryllis Seeds

Posted by AmaryllisBulbs at 2:25 PM

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24 comments:

  1. Thank you for share your tips. I love amaryllis and have many new plants by the water method. For me was more succeful than other methods. Thanks, again...Gely
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  2. Anonymous,

    Thanks for the feedback.
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  3. After your seeds sprout how big do you let them get before they get a pot by there self.I put 24 sprouts in a plastic container.
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  4. Anonymous,

    I'm going to take mine out after the have formed the second leaf. I've seen some pretty large seedlings still floating in water.
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  5. It is awsome!! Thank you for everything. my favorite part was the video. Who did the video??
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  6. Hi Anonymous,

    Thanks for commenting! I took the video, kinda shaky because I was holding the camera with one hand while pollinating the flower with the other.
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  7. so glad for your site - my first (and only) seed pod just opened - I wasn't susre which was the seed and which just chaffe
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  8. Hi Anonymous,

    Thanks for commenting. Good luck with the seeds from your Amaryllis.
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  9. Hello.i have some amaryllis bulbs that have pruduced seeds but someone cut the shriveled flowers!Will the seeds be produced be viable after this fact???
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  10. OK real novice here. I just put my 4 month old amarylis in 4 in. pots by there self. Was this to early or to late? Will the babys go dormant this fall or do they continue tell they bloom the first time?I live in Iowa so they will be inside.
    Thank you for the info
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  11. Hi Anonymous from May 26th,

    Sorry I didn't see your question earlier. I'm not sure what you mean by the flowers. Did they cut just the flowers but left the pods intact? If so, then the pods will be fine. I sometimes trim my flowers after the pods swell just to keep them looking neat.

    Hi Anonymous from June 10,

    It isn't too late to pot up your Amaryllis bulbs, let the babies go dormant too in the fall along with your older bulbs. They take about three years to bloom if you grew them from seeds.
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  12. Hi, I am in the UK and my pods expanded all nice and plump (like the picture) but the last week they have gone a very funny shape (all knobily) they have not split yet, do you think they are still okay.

    Thanks Terry
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  13. Hi Anonymous from June 20th,

    Sorry for the late reply. Your seed pods have either split open by now or something happened to them them since it has been a couple of weeks.

    If by any chance you see this comment let me know what became of your pods. Did they open or rot or what.
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  14. Hi, it's Terry again (from June 20th).

    My pods continued shrinking and looking like walnuts for another week or so, then I removed the dead flower heads (which were still attached) and within a couple of days they split. I had to physically remove the seeds because they would not drop ten to fourteen days after splitting.

    I put half of them into soil/compost mixture and half floating in water. After a couple of weeks six of the floating water sacs are showing shoots but none of the soil mix ones have done anything.

    I have transferred the soil ones into a new container today and filled it with water (like the others) to see if I can get them moving.

    Regards Terry
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  15. Hi Terry,

    Thanks for reporting back. Glad the water method has worked for you.

    Good luck with them and stop by again any time.
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  16. Hi from Dennis (retired in the Philippines) with a 365 day growing season and about 3 dozen Amaryllis of various colors. I have been removing baby bulbs to re-pot, but thanks to you and the knowledge gleaned from your site, I am now going to try my hand at pollination to obtain seeds. Have 2 plants in bloom right now (one red and one salmon color) and followed your pollination advice. Now waiting for the seed pods.

    I also have a question/comment. I have been told by a commercial garden owner friend here in the Philippines that they will take a bulb, dry it in the sun for 3 days, put it in the refridgerator for 3 days, and then replant and watch the new flower stalk appear after some weeks. Do you have any thoughts on this? I think I read somewhere about not stressing the plant too much. Would this have any long term negative effects in your experience?

    He has given me several beauties of different colors plus a double for free, so I can't complain about the expense. Just want to enjoy them as much as I can, and your pollination advice allows me to add that experience also.

    Thanks for your efforts that we all benefit from so greatly,

    Dennis
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  17. Hi Dennis,

    I'm jealous of your non-stop growing season. I haven't heard of that method, but here in America I put mine in a cool, dark area for at least three months after they go dormant in the fall. This is done to make them bloom during a certain time frame, but since you live in a 365 day growing season, this may not be necessary. They will bloom soon, right?
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  18. Yes, the new red and the salmon color ones have bloomed and I pollinated them both using tweezers. The seed pods are swelling nicely and I'm just waiting for the seeds to drop.

    And yes, here it's the same to have them bloom at a certain time after whatever number of weeks, only that they will do the 3 day drying, 3 days refridgerator. I haven't tried that technique yet, but will experiment with some of the Amaryllis I have many of so not a loss if it doesnt work for me.

    The double flower he gave me has 3 nice bulbets growing from the sides but no flowers yet. I removed the 3 already and repotted them.

    All my other mature Amaryllis have bloomed for me previously and expect they will bloom again soon. I have already removed bulbets from many of them, and my biggest Apple Blossom variety has given me 4 nice sized bulbets.

    On Wednesday this week I will be visiting the guy who gave me the double, and also the salmon color ones as gifts. He lives on the highway where he sells plants and trees about 50 miles from me. But this time he will take me to his 5 acre gardens about 2 miles hike from the highway where he has promised to give me a purple Amaryllis. I have never found a purple or lavender Amaryllis on the internet, so I am excited to get one from him. If he has one blooming, I will take a photo to share with you if you like.

    Regards,
    Dennis
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  19. Oops... I forgot that I have a question. About how many seeds are there in one Amaryllis pod? I was just wondering and couldn't find an answer anywhere.

    And by the way... the guy I mentioned that is sharing Amaryllis with me had never tried to pollinate one before either, but because of your instructions, photos and video, I was able to show him how to do it on a flower in full bloom.

    Now he is excited to try pollinating and cross pollinating too. I had 2 white Amaryllis (he had none) and I gave him one of mine so we hope that can be a basis for some of our cross pollination experiments.

    Thanks again,
    Dennis
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  20. Dennis,

    Thanks so much for your comments here. I think you should start an Amaryllis blog of your own soon, given how different the method of forcing them is in your area.

    I've never seen a purple one, so yes--please do share the pic. I'm really interested in seeing it.

    As to your question about how many seeds in each pod, can't really give you an answer seeing as how I've never counted them. But there usually a few dozen per pod from my experience.

    Talk soon.
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  21. I watched in amazement as my Amaryllis found the pollination she sought. I have four buds with stretch marks and I do not know how to care for her offspring. I am new at caring for this plant. I was raised having to plant a garden every year and I have wondered how related the Amaryllis is to how onions and garlic bulbs reproduce.
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  22. Hi,

    This is really a nice site which contains many information about Amaryllis bulb.
    I have a question: it is Autumn in Jordan (Middle East), I took the bulb away from the container as I found earthworms in it. So I left the bulbs exposed to the sun for 24 hours and then replanted the bulbs again adding fertiliers and water. In few days the green leaves of the bulbs became yellow. Do you think that the bulb will no longer bloom in summer as the green leaves died?
    Normally these bulbs bloom in summer (July and August)
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  23. Once the amaryllis that were grown from seed flowers how true is the color of the flower from the parent plant. I'm thinking about growing some red lion amaryllis from seed.
    Ed
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  24. My question is this: I've got two nice fat seed pods growing, (waiting for them to split open). After they drop, am I still able to trim the parent plant down and make it go dormant til next fall? To bloom it again?
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