A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Mysterious Bulb Plant is Wilting

I have this mysterious bulb that I got for Christmas. After posting some photos in the Mystery plants forum I was told that it may either be an amaryllis or a narcissus. It is growing in a glass with gravel in it and when I got it, it seemed to be pretty healthy with straight tall stocks. Well now a lot of the stocks have gone limp and are folding over and hanging down. On one stock there seems to be a flower pod also. Do you have any advice on how to bring it back to health and what I should do with it? Thanks a bunch!

hey, you're from anacortes! i just moved from friday harbor to tucson, what a change, really like the sunshine. anyway, i don't think that is an amaryllis or a narcissus, as i have both growing in similar gift pots. first off, make sure the roots are submerged in water, all the way to the bulb. secondly, i think you need to stake it or prop it up any way you can, as it looks like it is falling over itself. and keep it out of direct sunlight, bright indirect is best, i think. once it blooms, move it to a cooler location and the flowers will last longer. i'm gonna go out on a limb here and write that it looks like a gladiola, but i have never seen those in gift packs before. it's a lovely looking plant, good luck, and let us know what happens.

Small world!! Thanks for the info, I didn't know if I was supposed to be putting the water up to the bulb or not so that is good to know. It looks like the plant is developing another bud so hopefully it will bloom soon and then I can know for sure what it is! :rolleyes: Should I wait until after it blooms to move it into a pot with soil?

hi again Angelfaery,
i'm going to give you the directions off my amaryllis box, as i'm sure the info would apply...

growing care:
plant bulb pointed end up, top just above the soil surface. place in warm room(70-75F). Avoid direct sunlight. keep soil moist. water more frequently as leaves grow and flowers open. turn plant when stemas lean toward light. support top-heavy plant with stakes or small stones at the base. flowers will lastlonger if plant is moved to a cooler place at night(45-55F).
aftercare:
after flowering, water and fertilize regularly. when leaves start turning yellow, water only as needed until foliage dies. maintain amaryllis indoors, or bury pot in semi-shade outside when frost danger has passed. dig up just before first frost. let dormant amaryllis remain dry through summer. cut off dry, yellowed foliage just above bulb. repot every 2-3 years.

my guess would be to wait to plant the bulb until it has finished it's cycle. the plant has all the nutrients it needs in the bulb, so i think changing the medium now might stress it out. i think you can use the water method again next year, but obviously it would get bigger in the soil. just make sure to give it plenty of water.
i wish i knew what kind of bulb it is. if it was a gladiola, you could plant it outside and in the summer you would have these gorgeous and tall flowers, that would most likely propagate. but i'm not positive, sorry. hope this helps, sorry so long!

I think that it is a narcissus it looks like it might just need a bit more light. I'd just cut off the floppy leaves.

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking it might need more light but its kinda strange, instead of leaning towards the windows it is leaning away from them...<shrug>. More of the stocks are folding over and they also start turning brown at the folds so I have been cutting them as they do. It still hasn't bloomed but I may just cut all the stocks and leave the one with the pod on it and hopefully get some soil soon.

*hops* Well i think its a paperwhite

~Phoebe