Boxed in: the rise of the un-kit

Boxed in: the rise of the un-kit
The box format has the advantage of ease of handling in retail environments. They also have the real estate to advertise the promise inside by way of those intensley colorful graphics. The bold colors grab the eye, and thus Emaryllis was easy prey, ponying up the US $7.99 each for these two at a local grocery on October 20, 2020.

When Emaryllis started the first Box Kit Bonanza way back in 2008, the offerings may have varied in the types and qualities of pots, media (the coir disc was already de riggeur), and of course bulb quality, but they all had one thing in common, they were “kits”. That meant that there was some work to do in assembling the parts before the show could begin. Fast forward to more recent days and we see that even the simple (and fun!) effort to pot up the bulb is just too much for some, and thusly we have entered the waxed bulb era. What is the box format to do? Being easily transported, and stackable in retail outlet displays means they aren’t going away…not just yet. How will they hold on? Well, here’s one idea (x 2).

Here we have what may be the ultimate in simplicity, just water, place in a bright window, and wait. I know, I know, water you say? If that sounds like a lot of work, these aren’t for you. One thing that was noticed immediately upon handling the boxes in the store was that they had some definite heft to them. The kits with dry coir discs are almost as light as air. These aren’t kits at all, they are a complete package…truly gift ready, and truly pre-potted as the box announces.

Opening the first of these boxes quickly demonstrates the reason for their weight. They are already potted up in soiless mix! Of course, just reading the box would have been a pretty good clue. Still, the nature of the mix, and the fact that it isn’t bone dry is something not seen in the recent past.
Each subject is a complete package. Pots with saucers, and a retaining ring on top. Just water, and you’re off and running.
We wanna see whats in that pot! Emaryllis had to find a tray for these two, there was no way the bulb wouldn’t be inspected and measured for a proper write-up! The word “jumbo” on the box does not apply to the bulb size in this case, so hopefully to the flowers!

No cultivar names are called out on either kit, but the flower on the striped or bicolor kit sure looks like ‘Minerva’. The bulb measures 26cm, which is nice considering the box doesn’t declare a bulb circumference. No live roots are found, but the medium is moderately moist, which should signal the bulb to send roots out pronto. The mix also insulates the bulb from temperature swings and from excessive drying. The soiless media for these kits is quite good, being coir based, but probably blended with other organic constituents. It also includes sand rather than the more typical aerating aggregate. The sand gives the mix the bulk density/weight needed to keep the bulb upright during growth, since we won’t be keeping the retainer ring on. The medium is coarse and fibrous enough that there should be plenty of oxygen in the root zone.

As with the box above, the pink box has a nearly rootless bulb. There were probably a few dead roots present at potting time, but they have softened up and will decay. BUT, there are a few little root initials that have responed to the moderate moisture content of the potting medium. At 26.5cm circumference, this is a decently sized bulb, and a tad larger than its compatriot.

The pots in these kits measure 6″/15cm and are provided with tons of drainage holes. Add in the saucer, and again, we have a very complete presentation.

The box was assembled in Pennsylvania, but nowhere is the bulb origin noted, just that it is USDA inspected. These offerings are likely bearing bulbs from Brazil or Peru.

Marketing strangeness. The box proudly proclaims that the product is from a company owned by women (this would be the Pennsylvania firm assembling the boxes). But that woman on this side of the box…what’s up with that? We aren’t selling a beauty product here, and she most certainly isn’t the woman who boxed up our amaryllis! Her slightly seductive expression suggests that this might be better aimed at Valentine’s Day sales 😉

Aside from the almost disconcerting stock photo of a woman’s face on the pink flower box (the other box is thankfully spared this touch, having more appropriate floral motif) these kits are placed in entryways of a local grocery store chain, and by all accounts seemed to sell well. I noticed a pricey waxed bulb in a fancy cardboard stand nearby that didn’t seem to sell. The price difference was significant, and here the boxed format has an easy win.

Less than 8 weeks after purchase and watering in…the show begins! It seems certain that we have ‘Minerva’ on the left, with some foliage accompanying the two scapes. The pink flowered plant is more of a mystery. Note that Emaryllis decided not to keep the top retainer on, so as to better judge watering needs. Once the plant has grown and started blooming, there is no way to remove it short of “plastic surgery” 😉

The show starts in earnest mid December 2020 and the two kits are remarkably timed in near unison. The box images are clearly a match for their respective flowers, a great job here! All too often box kits can’t even get the flower color indicated. While ‘Minerva’ was easy to discern, the pink flower is not as easy to identify. Because of the large, lopsided form, the first variety to come to mind is ‘Rosita’, which has never performed well here at the ranch. It seems to have recently disappeared from catalogs and wholesalers pages, so this may be its last gasp. If it really is ‘Rosita’ it also would confirm the bulb origin being from South America, the only place that this cultivar has been produced in quantity.

What a show! Four large (OK, we’ll call them jumbo) 7.25″/18cm flowers, a nice bouquet of foliage below, and a second scape burgeoning. In a year when live parties are disallowed or even banned, ‘Minerva’ does its level best to be a party in pot.
The only bummer from either kit is the scanty production of only 2 flowers on the first scape of the pink sort. As if to make up for that fact, the first flower is at least huge (8″/20cm) in size!
The second scape as seen on Christmas Day! Now, this more like it, 4 flowers with more regular form and still large at 7″/18cm across. The foliage is so luxuriant, almost too much on balance with the flowers. Still, the leaves remained largely upright, quite a feat in a window that only gets natural sunlight, during the shortest days of the year.
Also on Christmas Day, and we have this genuinely beautiful sight. ‘Minerva’ has long been a reliable staple for just this kind of performance. The foliage here is the perfect height for complimenting the second scape, this one bearing 5 flowers. Not a speck of red blotch fungus either, these were well grown. With a total of 9 flowers, the ‘Minerva’ kit is the easy winner between the two.
What’s responsible for such lush and exuberant production of flowers and foliage? Roots! No stunted scapes or half-opened flowers shedding gobs of pollen here!
From only the most nascent of root nubs on the day of re-potting, to a pot full of healthy and rapidly growing roots during bloom. This is reason enough for our preference for potted bulbs over the waxed or mounted “waterless” offerings.

Here we have it, the most compelling reason for favoring a box kit, box “un-kit”, or a sleeved pre-potted amaryllis over those expensive waxed wonders. While surely more work will be done to select hybrids that perform better without watering, the chance to grow a plant, is the only way to propel the kind of show we see here. Root production gives the best performance, as well as the best prospect (should one want to try) for future seasons of bloom. Perhaps by pre-potting, the box format seen here strikes the perfect balance between easy care and quality of show that amaryllises are capable of.

2 Comments on “Boxed in: the rise of the un-kit

  1. I was interested to note your comment about the absence of red blotch in these kits. Over the past 3 years, I’ve noticed red blotch (and an absence of live roots) in the expensive garden centre boxed kits (as well as a tendency for the flower to look nothing like the cultivar advertised on the box). The cheap supermarket kits have all been free of red blotch and all but one has had at least some live root. Plus good drainage holes. As far as I can see, the only advantage of the expensive kits is the named cultivars…but as they’re usually wrong anyway, I’m sticking to my £4 nameless box kits in future!

    • One of the main reasons for the move to growing in Peru in particular is that the climate naturally discourages fungal diseases, and these are often the least expensive, mass produced bulbs. Perhaps that is why the bulb kits are much cleaner of late, but whatever the reason it is a welcome development!

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