dumped amaryllis

Ynnead

Hello as I was walking home today I spotted this plant that had been dumped. The label says no water amaryllis. I've never had one before and the red coating on the bulb looks a bit soft. Can I keep it alive and what should I do? It seems to have some new leaves growing. Sorry if the pictures blurry. I guess I should cut the flowers off?

update so after googling the horrible practice of waxing bulbs I took all the wax off, cut the flowers and put the bulb which had a few tiny roots into a jar with water. Maybe its a long shot but hopefully it will recover.

JennyJ

Worth a try if you have a pot and some compost. Plant it with the top third sticking out, and in a pot that's only maybe an inch or so bigger than the bulb all round. The no water thing is a sales gimmick - they'll only flower once (the flower that's already formed in the bulb) and then they'll have no nutrients to grow leaves and build up the bulb for the next year's flowering. More info: https://www.thompson-morgan.com/how-to-grow-amaryllis-bulbs

Ynnead

Thankyou JennyJ. I put the bulb into a jar so the bottom with the tiny roots touches water. I'll put it into a pot if it recovers. Apparently the wax suffocates and kills the bulb.

https://laidbackgardener.blog/tag/no-water-amaryllis/

JennyJ

I didn't know about the wax! What a way to treat an innocent bulb . Can you peel it off , or is it stuck fast? Trying to grow leaves is a good sign that it's not a goner yet though, good on you for trying to save it.

Ynnead

HiJennyJ yes I managed to get all the wax off. The bulb is quite healthy and black, which I'm guessing came from soil ,when it was originally grown in soil.