Last year I treated myself to a few Amaryllis bulbs, little prezzies for Christmas. You can’t beat an Amaryllis bloom for making you feel like the world is a beautiful place and cheering you up on a gray winter day. The flowers are like beacons, facing out in sometimes four directions, like trumpets shouting “Look at me, Look at me, am I not the most gorgeous flower you’ve ever seen??” And of course, you have to agree with the “girls” (they’re always girls to me). They are the Most Beautiful of flowers. The “girls” have treated to me to a bonus this year. Both of these bulbs came back with flowers. This deep pink bloom is just at the papery stage, almost done, but still beautiful. I do love that backlit look, which shows off the veins in petals.
And this deep bright red amaryllis is just bursting with vigor, four blooms and another stem coming up. It’s a bulb originally from South Africa.
Of three bulbs that I restarted, only one produced only leaves and I must admit that bulb was a bit shriveled when I repotted it.
I remember the first time I got an amaryllis to re-bloom many many years ago. All really quite by accident, not knowing what I was doing at all. In fact, why it worked with all the neglect and just plain lack of knowledge was a miracle of sorts. I’d gotten a bulb before Christmas and it had bloomed and I’d lopped off the stem when the flower was done and let the leaves grow. I must have know that much at least.
One day, in the late spring I just put it out on the deck and more or less forgot about it except for watering until fall. Then it died back and I brought it in for winter. I noticed a bud starting out from the bulb and started to water it again and it rewarded me with another set of wonderful blooms. Dumb luck that time.
Now I’m a little better at it. I try to remember to let them dry up in early fall. This year I set empty flower pots over the bulbs to make them think it was dark. Then in late November I brought them out and repotted them with fresh dirt, put them in a warm place and watered and waited. The “girls” came up very well. Now, I wonder, can I do this for another year? It’s always a surprise and well appreciated when it works.
Your Amarylis plant is glorious! My favourite for winter, too – especially that gorgeous red which I call heart’s love – don’t know the real name. They smell lovely and look ravishing. Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos….
Cheers,
Marianne
Thank you Marianne, we are certainly enjoying these blooms and luckily there are more to come!
I have never grown Amaryllis – I am not very good with indoor plants – yours is the most wonderful colour
K
Hi Karen, I must admit I’m sometimes better with indoor plants than outdoor ones. But I’m still happily surprised when an amaryllis re-blooms.
They look great Helen. They look like boys to me! Have you ever used soil instead of dirt?
A splash of colour amidst all this grey is a comfort – thanks for sharing Helen!
No Hart, to me they are girls. Oh no, are we having this discussion again about which is right? Soil or Dirt? I know, I know but to me it’s still dirt. But you can plant in soil. That works for me.
Hi Mary Lou, glad you enjoyed it. That must have been why I chose red, it would be bright and cheerful when needed.
We have a 30+ year old amaryllis that we brought from Russia a few years ago. Olya’s Grandmother had it when Olya was little. Olya remembers it when she was about 5. It blooms every year. This year it had two stalks. We don’t do anything with it. (no covering or drying out) Your bulb should last a long long time. We will send you pictures of ours.
Hi Olya and Paul, Wow that is amazing! I had no idea that you could keep a bulb going that long.