Sorry to contradict both of you but the large flowering amaryllis sold as
gift plants/bulbs during the winter are hybrids of Hippeastrum and are not
hardy in the ground in zones below 9 or 10. And while they may very well be
evergreen in your climate, David, they are not in colder parts of the
country and they do go through a period of dormancy. Obviously they must, as
they are most frequently sold as just a bare bulb without any foliage.
There are many websites which address how to get one of these large flowered
amaryllis to rebloom in subsequent years in zones where they are not winter
hardy and the instructions are exactly as I have stated.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8529.html
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/amaryllis.html


pam - gardengal


"David Ross" wrote in message
...
Hippeastrum is an evergreen bulb. With proper care it does NOT go
dormant. If you force it to go dormant, you risk sacraficing the
next season's flowers.

True Amaryllis is a deciduous bulb. It does go dormant. As with
all deciduous bulbs, however, if you remove the foliage while it is
still green you risk killing the bulb.

See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_hippeastrum.html for
information on how to distinguish between Hippeastrum and
Amaryllis.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/