Question
QUESTION: I bought 2 bulbs at Christmas. The foliage came up, but there has been no sign of the flower stalk. I had grown many amaryllis bulbs and this has never happened. What might cause this, prevention tips.Does an amaryllis bulb continue to grow larger if allowed to continue with a long growing season or skipping a year of blooming?

ANSWER: Jo Anne, I will be the first to admit that my experience with Amaryllis is somewhat limited, but from what you describe, it is most likely that this one is taking longer the normal, if it is healthy foliage then patience is the medicine; it won't regress to dormancy until it has flowered, and the size of the bulb in the future is not influenced by the length of the growing season.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have heard that the bulb gets smaller with each flowering until the bulb is too small to flower. I have only re-bloomed some bulbs one time and the bulbs are smaller. How does one grow the large bulbs like the ones sold commercially? The foliage is very healthy on the 2 I am growing now, but still with no flower stalk. Very weird, but I will give it more time. I will let it grow until next fall even if it does not bloom this year. I have never had a newly purchased bulb not bloom. But this is only the 3rd year I have grown them at all.

Answer
Hi again Jo Anne, ok I did some research and came up with the following, (again I apologize for this subject not being one of my strongpoints); failure to flower is usually due to poor light, no rest period or poor nutrients in the soil. Amaryllis can produce flowers up to 75 years or more from the same bulb; I was unable to find out how you can produce the large bulbs they sell commercially however...regards Nick