I have grown a bunch of amaryllis bulbs in the past in different soils and all seem pretty resilient and don't care much, as long as you give them love and attention (water and sun), but I have two bulbs that I really need to baby and bring back to life right now and it's important that I give them the absolute best growing environment to do so.

The short story: when my dad passed away, I brought back a bucket that was jam-packed full of amaryllis bulbs and wanted to preserve his memory through the flowers. Two years later, I forgot about the bulbs being in the garage and nearly all of them froze/dried out/etc. Only two bulbs remained: a medium one and an itsy bitsy tiny one. Then, this past year, due to exhaustion and being insanely busy, I neglected a bunch of my plants. On top of it, these two were in old potting soil (lacking nutrients?) in a pot that I didn't realize didn't drain (although I think lack of water was actually a bigger problem because they were continually forgotten about). Every time I remembered them, I noticed how insanely dry the soil was, would make a mental note to water them, and then would promptly forget about it.

So, fast forward to today, I was about to (sadly) throw them away, finally giving up on them, when I noticed a tiny green leaf in the middle of the itsy bitsy bulb ( ) and now I have hope for both of them again! (The larger bulb feels firm at the core, too, even though the core feels tiny, like a little garlic clove covered in lots of paper-thin shells.)

So....bringing this back around to my original request: Can you recommend the best potting soil that you have found for your amaryllis? I want to baby these and bring them back to life if at all possible.

Thank you!

Best amaryllis potting soil?
You'll get lots of ideas on that one! I'm not sure we all could agree on "the best one!"

Here is what Hadeco (the South African breeder & exporter) recommends for soil:

Hadeco retail website said:Choose a brand name potting soil which drains well (pH 6.0 to 6.8). Light, yet nutritious, it should contain no tree bark or fresh manure.

find that info here:
https://hadecoamaryllis.com/#p...
For commercial growers, they give more details for "perfect" medium here: http://www.hadecobulbs.com/hip...

I make my own, with the following ratio given to me by a commercial amaryllis grower:
Buffered Coco Peat. (Coir), Perlite, & sand.
Ratio: 4 parts coir to 1 part perlite and 1-2 parts sand.
The addition of sand is beneficial for drainage.

Since you just need a few pots, I would think buying a small bag of commercial "seed starting mix" and adding sand would work pretty good- using Hadeco's suggestion of 2/3 part potting soil to 1/3 part sand. Then you'll need to fertilize after flowering.

Good luck with those special bulbs. The hadeco links above have growing hints as well.

Ken gives excellent advice on a potting mix. Good drainage is a must. I usually use a good potting mix, with 1/2 added sand. and fertilize during the summer. Amaryllis bulbs are pretty forgiving as long as they don't sit in mucky soil.

@bsharf and @kenisaac thank you!!

You might try Miracle-Grow Cactus, Palm and Citrus Soil Potting Mix. Has good drainage. I've used it before with good results.