Actually, I think you're both correct. The instructions given for amarylis
in books and websites are really for the vast majority of gardeners in the
north, who want to have blooms in the winter. The dormancy is basically
"induced" by a combination of cooler temperatures and letting the soil dry
out. - and in this way, a northern gardener can also induce the amarylis to
bloom a few months ahead of its natural schedule. In Tallahassee, where the
average winter temperature is pretty warm, but there are still 20 or more
days of frost most years, the foliage of the amarylis I grew outdoors there
would die back after a frost, and the plant would send out new foliage and a
flower scape in March. I have kept amarylis going year round in spokane,
but the foliage gets very ratty in the short gray days of a northwestern
winter, pressed up against a cold window pane. However, the plant will still
bloom in its normal time - which is March, April, or early May. Eventually
the ratty foliage drops off and new foliage replaces it - about the time
that the new flower scape begins to rise. I'm not good about repotting
every year in fresh soil, so often my bulbs s will give me about 2 years of
bloom and then peter out.
"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:EWM2d.2698$wV.1360@attbi_s54...
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/