Amaryllis red leaves no bloom

[Your Letters 2]

Good Morning :

 

I would like to know if you can assist me with the following problem :

 

Below is a picture of an Amaryllis large bulb which flowerd beatifully with 4 gigantic white and yellow flowers .

It has not flowered in over 1 year and now has this red stuff. It continues to grow alot of leaves but no flowers.

 

Please help I don't want them to die ..I forgot to mention that I live in Puerto Rico.

 

Thank you , 

Jeannette

 

[Janet Macunovich 32]

An interesting situation, Jeannette, thanks for asking us to look into it. Unfortunately it seems likely your amaryllis is infected with a fungus called leaf scorch or leaf fire or red fire. It is pretty difficult to control and that causes growers/producers of amaryllis to dispose of infected bulbs. However, Florida State's bulletin - excerpt and URL included below - indicates it may be worth trying a hot water bath plus careful attention to growing conditions afterward - very good light and never too much water.

 

It is possible the fungus has hurt the bulb so much that it stopped blooming  but it is more likely that whatever condition weakened the plant enough to make it susceptible to the fungus also stopped the formation of flowers.

 

This is not to say you are a bad gardener. Subtle changes in condition like slightly lower light levels aren't noticeable to us yet a plant on the edge can reach a point where it cannot function fully. All the while it looks the same to us..... until it doesn't.

 

(Unrelated story: I am remembering my experience as a youngster with Dracaena, corn palm. So pleased with how our indoor plant was growing! Yet while I was gloating it was looking fine as it died. Until one day as I approached it, watering can in hand. Every leaf fell off, neatly one by one as my approach sent little tremors its way.)

 

So do this. Read the excerpts of two bulletins below, one by the Pacific northwest Extension and one by Florida State. They both paint a dire future for your amaryllis - discard the infected plant. However, you are not a grower nurturing 1,000. You are 1 in charge of 1. To you, the Florida Extension offers an option to heat treat the plant. See what you can do. Let the rest of us know. We will post this on our Forum so others can see it and comment. Who knows, someone may say, "Been there, done that, go for it!"

 

Also go to the Florida State bulletin (Green Thumbs Up to all these Extension bulletins at our fingertips via Internet!) and read their directions for handling amaryllis to achieve bloom. Or read our notes to that effect on GardenAtoZ.org. Search Hippeastrum" and the various articles will pop right up. See if you can alter the plant's rest period or growing conditions to coax it back into bloom.

That is what we gardeners do. We spend the time to see what's possible outside the realm of growing-an-acres-worth.

 

Good luck. I hope you will let us know what you do and what happens. We will share that indormation along. for a while.

 

Excerpt #1 from Pacific NW Extension services

 

https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)-Leaf Scorch (Red Leaf Spot)

•  

Cause Peyronellaea curtisii (formerly Stagonospora curtisii), a fungus that can survive for at least a year in dry leaf material. Fruiting bodies and/or spores may be carried on the bulb. Leaves and flower stalks may be injured as they push up between bulb scales. Under moist or humid conditions, spores infect the plant through these or other wounds. 'Naked ladies' (Amaryllis belladonna) are not as susceptible to infection.

Symptoms Small, red, raised or elongated spots will first develop after infection of leaves or flower stalks. Dark, brownish red spots also develop on flowers or bulb scales. Reddish brown pimple-like fruiting bodies (pycnidia) develop in necrotic areas. Infected leaves or flower stalks generally bend at the point of infection and may dry up without producing a flower.

Any injury to the plant will result in a reddening of affected tissue, so this disease may be confused with physiological problems or insect injuries.

Cultural control

• Avoid injuring the plant.
• Destroy or remove diseased bulbs and infected foliage.
• Provide ideal growing conditions such as a temperature of 60°F to 75°F. Do not overwater, fertilize once a week, and place where it will get plenty of light but not direct sunlight.

Chemical control Generally not recommended, though Captan has been shown to be effective.

Reference Smith, C.O. 1934. Inoculations of Stagnospora curtisii on the Amaryllidaceae in California. Phytopathology 25:262-268.

 

Excerpt #2 from U of Florida Extension

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP06000.pdf

 

Occasionally, amaryllis will be attacked by a fungus disease

called “red blotch” or “leaf scorch” (S

tagonospora curtisii).

 

It usually occurs on shaded plants that are

frequently irrigated. Red spots appear on the flower stalks

and leaves and enlarge, elongate, and become sunken.

Infected leaves and flower stems are characteristically

deformed or bent at the point of attack. The flower stalks of

heavily infested plants may break over at an infected area or

wither and dry up before the flowers are produced.

Red blotch is difficult to control. The best way to manage

the disease is to discard heavily infected bulbs, eliminate

overhead irrigation, use sterilized potting soil when

propagating, and provide plants with the right growing

conditions. Fungicides (like thiophanate methyl) can

be applied, but they are expensive and hard to find. A

hot water treatment is sometimes suggested on lightly

infected bulbs. Dig up the bulbs, remove infected scales

and excess soil, and soak them for 30 minutes in water kept

at a temperature between 104°F–114°F (40°C–46°C). For

more information see:

https://www.freshfromflorida.com/

content/download/11169/143305/pp162.pdf