The Horror that is Wax Encased Bulbs

9 years ago

My local Lowe's in Tampa this year carried the wax bulbs that I had previously heard and saw on the internet last season (on this forum too). Lowe's had them about a month ago, but I didn't bother as they were a little pricey (can't remember the exact dollar amount; think it was somewhere around $14). Anyways, some of the bulbs have bloomed and faded, and they were put on clearance for $3, so I took a shot and bought two this afternoon to see what the fuss was about. Plus, most of the bulbs had two scapes and the second one has yet to bloom. I was highly suspicious of the "no-water" business in regards to the long term outcome, and my thoughts were confirmed when I took off the wax encasing.

The bulbs were a good size and came in a plastic cylinder:
{{gwi:2122940}}

Here's the front view of the container:
{{gwi:2122941}}

The bulb itself shrunk quite a lot compared to the wax encasing, which is to be expected since the bulb has no access to water or nutrients. Pressing on the wax showed that there were clearly airspace pockets. I expected the bulbs to shrink after one of the scapes bloomed, but this felt a little pathologic.
{{gwi:2122942}}

Next, using a scalpel blade (any sharp instrument will do), I did a little wax-ectomy and started taking off large chunks of the encasing. I expected some bruising, but not to the level of mold growing on both bulbs:
{{gwi:2122943}}
{{gwi:2122944}}

The roots, being confined to the wax, didn't look particularly great as well. Keep in mind that these bulbs have been sitting around for 4 weeks now. Amaryllis planted in soil would develop quite a rigorous root system in such time.
{{gwi:2122945}}

By this point I was pretty certain that the no-watering malarkey didn't float and that, left alone, these bulbs would rot in their wax coffins. The sealed-off, dark environment of the wax casing is perfect for fungal growth. These bulbs would be one-offs: look like a pretty ornament for the holidays, then be immediately thrown out. It would be sad to see a bulb that got big enough to put forth two or more scapes end up in the trash.

So, I removed all the wax carefully as well as the metal base that poked into the basal plates of the two bulbs. I stripped the layers that were soft and mushy with the rotting mold until I saw a relatively clean layer. I cut off the spent scape, as I didn't want the bulb to put energy into seeds. The bulb was then wiped down with an alcohol prep pad, and potted in a mixture of generic potting soil, perlite, and some compost:
{{gwi:2122946}}
{{gwi:2122947}}

I'll keep this thread updated as the progress continues. Meanwhile, I looked up the people that make these wax bulbs (http://www.nowaterflowers.com), since the company on the container (Battlefield Farms in Virgina) didn't look like they grew bulbs. Interestingly enough, nowaterflowers doesn't show too many pictures of the flowers in full bloom, but rather emphasize the variety's of bulb encasing available. A lot of the pictures with flowers is taken before the flowers fully open. Coincidence? I think not. The flowers that were blooming at my Local Lowe's didn't look all that fantastic. Hippeastrum blooms are head-turners. These flowers looked dehydrated and anemic (they didn't have that punch of a true red that the container portrayed). The blooms didn't seem to didn't last long either.

In short, the wax encasing is certainly eye-catching and turn the bulb in to an ornament around this time of the Holidays. But if you're looking to keep these bulbs after they bloom (assuming they don't rot all the way through) or just wanted good blooms, I say look elsewhere. All plants need water and nutrients. To deny them that at the cost of some novelty marketing scheme is just cruel.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nowaterflowers website

Featured Answer

jamesthepeach
Original Author

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hi all,

The bulbs finally bloomed about a week ago! Here they are again in the sun. They seem to be of two different varieties. One had the standard 4 bloom per scape kinda deal going on. The other one had about 6 flowers, but they all pointed more upwards. Overall, the bulbs are doing great.

James

Sort by:Oldest