Forcing amaryllis bulbs in water: Reblooming for a fourth season

A water-grown 'Double King' amaryllis bulb grows toward the sunlight through a sliding glass door. 'Double King' amaryllis bulb grown in water will rebloom for fourth year.

Well, that's the headline, but my pet amaryllis Leafy does not look as sturdy as it did in its first year of bloom. This year's slender flower stalk is the thinnest ever. 

I can tell before the flower emerges that Leafy needs fortification. The sun alone did not give this water-grown bulb enough energy to make a stem as healthy as its first year of water-forced blooming.

I have grown Leafy in plain water since 2014, and this year I believe I am seeing the result of insufficient nutrients.

In 2015, the first year the bulb bloomed on water in my possession, leaves emerged along with the flower stem. So far, this year, there's only a flower stem. Last year, the leaves came a bit later, so maybe the same will happen this year.

However, the bulb seems to be as tall at the end of March as it was in early April last year. We'll see what happens next month. 

At any rate, I will be testing the effect of putting a little fertilizer in water with hopes of improving both flowers and foliage growth from the bulb. 

If Leafy's growth doesn't seem stronger as a result, I might need to plant the bulb in the ground, as suggested by Hans Langeveld, co-owner of Longfield Gardens, which was the source of the bulb. 

In the meantime, I will keep looking into the bulb's neck for signs of emerging leaves. And I'll turn it as needed to encourage upright growth as the flower stem leans into the sunlight.