Water-grown amaryllis ready to bloom a fifth season with challenges

The roots of my amaryllis Leafy after fertilizer shock in a July 30, 2018 photo.There are so many reasons that I have failed to post an update on Leafy until now.

But first, words of caution: DO NOT FEED MIRACLE-GRO TO WATER-GROWN AMARYLLIS BULBS. 

Somewhere, there is a picture of Leafy in bloom last year, but I never posted it because an SUV crashed into my car and totaled it at about the same time.

Anyway, the good news is that the crash didn't kill me, and the fertilizer didn't kill Leafy.

I was worried it might. Fortunately, I had exercised caution and only put in 1/4 teaspoon as a test. I don't remember exactly when I put the fertilizer in the water, I just know that I waited until after the flower faded.

Within a few days, the water and all of the plant's roots turned green. The roots had a green growth on them and began to rot. Almost immediately thick new white roots were sent out to quickly replace those that were fading. The root picture shown above was easy to find because it had been on my desktop. It was taken July 30, 2018.

Leafy spent all of last summer with just one leaf, where normally there would have been four or five. I suspect that was because so much of the bulb's energy went into generating a new root system. The single leaf withered in late October, as usual, and was trimmed away. And, as usual, it spent the fall months atop its water-filled vase.

A flower bud emerges.So, imagine my happiness a few days ago when what looked like a leaf tip could be seen growing within the bulb top. With additional growth this week, I recognize it as a flower stem.

Once again, it's slender -- the smallest to date -- and not as sturdy looking as in year's past. This will probably be the year I plant Leafy in soil for the summer. 

This is a bulb that I have been growing in water since Dec. 2014, so I wonder if it will need to somehow become acclimated to soil.

I will probably plant it in a pot and try to get it used to being outside gradually. We'll see what the future holds! 

 I went through the folders on my camera, and I did find the bloom photos. I will post them very soon along with a shot of Leafy's stem this year.