An Alternative Holiday Plant To Give and Receive
By Susan Reule
Comes in many varieties and various shades of red, white, pink, salmon, oranges as well as striped and multicolored. Large bulbs usually produce two flower stalks. Plant heights range from 18 - 36 inches depending on the cultivars and the home forcing conditions.
The Amaryllis is from the bulb family (Hippeastrum). The plant originated in the tropical areas of South America. The large, bell-shaped flowers make excellent garden plants in the southern states (Climatic Zones 8-10) and great container plants in other climatic zones in the northern part of the United States.
Few plants are as easy to grow, last for years and produce beautiful blossoms. An Amaryllis can be enjoyed from year to year with only a few planting suggestions which in the right climatic zones (Climatic Zones 8 - 10) the plant can be moved from the outdoors to the indoors and back out to the outdoors.
PLANTING PERIOD FOR INDOOR BLOOMS:
Bring plant in from the outdoors sometime in late September and let it dry out in the basement with all the foliage intact. Discontinue watering. When the foliage has dried remove it and allow the plant to rest for 8 or more weeks. At the end of the resting cycle bring the plant out to begin growing again in a container for holiday and Spring blossoms.
NOTE: An Amaryllis may not re-flower the first year after you bring it in from the outdoors, but will flower every year thereafter and usually with an increase in the number of stalks and/or flowers. A large bulb that is kept for four or more years will produce up to three flower stalks with four large blossoms on each stalk. An older plant bulb will also send off shoots from the base that you can separate and plant in its own container for more flowering enjoyment.
Plant your bulbs (transfer from outdoor garden or purchase from your favorite gardening center) in late October for Christmas blooms or alternate your planting time for blooms all Winter. Plant the Amaryllis in good potting soil. The plant should be placed in a well-drained, PH 6 to 6.5 sterilized potting medium. Peat and pertlite mixture is a good choice. Plant the bulb so that the top half is exposed with the roots downward and taking extra precaution not to damage the roots.
Place the potted bulb in a warm place with direct light with an ideal temperature of 68 to 70 degrees F. Water sparingly, keeping it moist but not wet until the stem appears, then as the buds and leaves appear water the plant more often. After the plant begins to grow fertilize 2 to 4 times a month with a slow release liquid fertilizer. Bulbs will generally flower 6 - 8 weeks after planting. While plant is flowering it is important to keep it out of direct sunlight and in the coolest are of your home - this will promote longer flower life.
After flowering cut the old flowers from the stem and cut the stem back to the top of the bulb after it starts to die. The bulb can then be planted outdoors if the threat of frost is gone or remain planted in the container and treated as a household plant that will produce many vegetative leaves full of nutrients that will feed the bulb until the end of Summer.
Forcing Plant to Flower Again in the Fall. When the leaves start to turn yellow and wither (bring the plant indoors if it was planted outdoors) cut off all the dead leaves to the top of the bulbs neck and start over with the section entitled Planting Period for Indoor Blooms.
Additional information on growing your Amaryllis and information used in creating this web page are credited to the following links:
http://www.rochestergardening.com/bulbs/amrylcar.html
http://www.plantconnection.com/garden_info/amaryllis.htm
http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/horticulture/amaryllis.html
