Jim, Those are all excellent questions. I am waiting for someone much smarter than me to connect the dots and answer them because I know those answers are already available. It's pretty clear to me that the general timing of Amaryllis flowering can already be explained with the current literature on flower induction and development. I would much rather read someone else's insightful explanation than attempt to write one. Why are there so few floral biologists participating in these discussions? I seldom read insightful posts here on the topics of flower initiation or flower development, areas in which I have conducted both applied and basic research, written grant proposals and literature reviews, both flower induction and flower senescence. Where are all the floral biologists? One of the many positive attributes of a group like this is that there are so many people here who have so much experience growing so many, many different genera under an incredible variety of circumstances from all over the world. The expertise where this group is not so well versed is the broad area of plant physiology, especially floral biology. That is not met as a criticism, just one person's observation of those who post messages here. This is truly not met to offend anyone here but I really think part of the reason so few floral biologists participate is that many who could offer much insight in this area see the Wiki or they see something like this most recent discussion on bloom-blooming-bloom Amaryllis, shrug, and move on to something else. Having once been in that world, I know this to be true. It's no different than what you think of the neighbor who plants marigolds and petunias in their front yard around their pink plastic flamingos and asks you if it looks better than last year's display. Okay, I still like some petunias but that is besides the point. The unfortunate result is there are no current floral biologists here to answer your questions and, worse yet, many here are now crowdsourcing the reinvention of the wheel and don't even know it. Best Regards, Nathan At 10:09 AM 6/14/2015, you wrote: >Now that we know that the flowers of Amaryllis >belladonna and various Nerine which will bloom >this year began to be formed two years ago, it >occurs to me that maybe an understanding of what >time of year that begins to happen (and under >what conditions) might help us induce flowering >in these species. The "us" I have in mind are >those of us who live in climates in which these >plants are very stingy about blooming. For >instance, are the incipient bloom buds formed >during a period of otherwise inactive growth >(dormancy) or during a period of active growth? >During a period of low temperatures or high >temperatures? At what time of year does this >take place among wild plants? Is any of this >known and, if so, can any of you provide more >information? Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, >Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, just the sort of >place which might benefit from the information requested.