Although amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.) is often associated with snowflakes, roaring fires, and general holiday cheer, these bulbs actually hail from a decidedly unsnowy part of the world: tropical South America.
In the Northern Hemisphere they are forced to bloom in the winter months, and we typically purchase them after they’ve been prepared by nursery professionals in the right conditions to induce flowering.
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After they have flowered, the bulbs can be saved and either planted out in Zones 9 to 11, where they will revert to flowering in spring, or stored and forced to rebloom the following winter.
If you want to learn more about how to grow amaryllis, check out our guide.
Those of us that choose to store the bulbs after they’ve flowered often run into problems when it’s time for blossoms to reemerge.
The Hippeastrum bulb can be quite finicky, in fact. If you’re faced with lots of luscious leaves and nary a flower in sight, read on to find the reasons, and solutions, for this common issue.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Why Amaryllis May Fail to Bloom
1. Underwatering
Amaryllis is fairly fussy about exactly when and how much water it requires. If you don’t give it enough water, you’ll be stuck with lots of leaves, and not a flower in sight.
If you’ve stored your own Hippeastrum bulbs, and they are failing to flower after breaking dormancy, it might be a watering issue at several points in your bulb’s growth cycle.
After the bulbs have bloomed, they’ll need a prolonged period of regular watering, when the soil should never quite dry out all the way. A good rule of thumb is to water when the surface of the soil is just about dry to the touch.
Come mid-August, you should stop watering entirely to allow the bulb to enter into a period of rest known as dormancy.
To learn the specific ins and outs of this process, check out our guide to caring for amaryllis after flowering.
After the bulb has completed its dormancy period and started to sprout again, water when the top two inches of soil is dry.
The same advice here applies to bulbs you buy at the store that are ready to bloom for the first time. If you skimp on the water, your plant won’t produce a flower bud and you’ll be stuck with a lot of underwhelming foliage. Be sure to water when the soil is dry two inches down.
These bulbs don’t want to be inundated, which we’ll discuss in the next section. In most indoor conditions, you’ll be watering at least once a week.
2. Too Much Water
It’s just as easy to overwater as it is to underwater when it comes to hydrating your Hippeastrum.
As with many bulbs, too much water will cause rot.
Under perpetually soggy conditions your amaryllis will wither away to a squishy mess. You’ll likely see some leaves but probably not many, depending on how sodden your soil is.
Under these soggy conditions, your plant will never produce the gargantuan, colorful trumpets you’re longing to see.
After your bulb has broken dormancy, water when the top two inches of soil have dried out, as mentioned above. Provide a deep watering, until liquid drains out of the bottom of the pot.
3. Not Enough Light
If your plant is growing lots of healthy foliage but seems reluctant to bloom, too little light is probably the most common issue of all.
Plants of all types use day length as a signal to induce flowering.
Although amaryllis is a contented indoor dweller, if it doesn’t receive the full six to eight hours of bright, indirect light it craves, flowers will simply never appear.
The plant can produce lots of luscious foliage under low light conditions, but if you want to see those gorgeous flowers, move your plant to a well-lit location, pronto.
4. Temperature
It might be cold outside, but don’t let it get cold inside, too!
These bulbs hail from a warm, sunny part of the world. When they’re ready to bloom they want to feel right at home.
Giving your amaryllis the brightest, indirect light possible is critical for flowering, but so is making sure the temperature stays warm. Around 75℉ is just right.
In temperatures cooler than 75℉, you’ll likely see plenty of healthy leaves, but flowers may not appear.
Situate your bulbs where temperatures are warmest in the house, but keep a careful eye on soil moisture if it’s close to a heat source, like a radiator or wood stove.
5. Insufficient Nutrients
Another common problem, many incorrectly stored Hippeastrum bulbs suffer from a lack of nutrients.
This is not a problem that afflicts nursery bought bulbs, as these will have been fed, watered, and stored in optimal conditions so they’re all set to bloom.
Flowering takes an enormous amount of energy and these bulbs need fresh potting soil or fertilizer to be up for the task.
Lack of nutrients can result in the bulb producing leaves, but no flowers. In really nutrient-poor substrates, even the leaves will be small, and dull.
I prefer to plant my stored amaryllis bulbs in new potting soil and add some fertilizer as well.
As your bulb begins to produce new growth, feed it with a fertilizer that has an equal ratio of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus such as 5-5-5 (NPK) every three weeks.
Again, this issue is unique to bulbs you’ve stored at home. Newly purchased bulbs will bloom even when grown in water or gravel.
6. Too Much Nitrogen
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This applies to both physics, and amaryllis bulbs.
Although these South American beauties need lots of food leading up to flowering, if you overdo it on the nitrogen in particular, you’ll have a lovely mess of leaves and not much else.
Amaryllis flowers, and all flowers in general, need plenty of potassium and phosphorus to help them develop.
To fix an overabundance of leaves and the absence of flowers, make sure the fertilizer you provide your amaryllis is balanced, with equal parts nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
7. Short Dormancy
That restful period when your amaryllis is about as interesting to look at as a potato is actually critical to its development.
No rest, no flowers. Most amaryllis bulbs need about two to three months of time off in order to blossom. If you skimp on this well deserved vacation time, you’ll pay for it with a paucity of flowers.
This is a problem unique to bulbs that may have been stored improperly at home. Bulbs purchased at the store should have had plenty of time to rest and build up the nutrients essential for flowering.
An insufficiently rested bulb will likely still produce leaves, which don’t have the same high energy and nutrient needs as flowers.
It’s possible to steward them out of a short dormancy successfully, as discussed in our guide to forcing amaryllis to bloom indoors.
When your amaryllis goes dormant, make sure to leave it well alone. Wake it up only after a full two months have passed.
Cracking the No-Flowers Code
Although there are a variety of reasons why amaryllis may fail to bloom, the solutions are relatively straightforward.
Think plenty of sunlight, warmth, and just the right amount of food and water.
Do you have amaryllis gracing your home this winter? What challenges have you encountered caring for these bulbs? Let us know in the comments section below!
And for more information about growing amaryllis, check out these guides next:
