I have seen them in seed and plant catalogs for years. I have watched others show them off in various posts. But I have never grown one. This year was the year. Hmm, a lot of firsts this year in my gardening. Amaryllis are beautiful flowers. They come in all colors and are huge and spectacular. Amaryllis is a flowering bulb that is typically forced to bloom during the holiday season.
Walmart had these for sale when the holiday items rolled into the store for $5.00 each. I ignored them the first time I saw them but the next time I was there, I decided to grab a couple and try them out. There were I believe 4 or 5 different color options to choose from. I bought the Stargazer which is supposed to be red with a white stripe down the middle of the petal and also Amigo which is a pink one. There are many more color options if you choose to purchase your Amaryllis at say a nursery or online store such as Jackson & Perkins, as well as at a variety of prices. Amaryllis bulbs can be quite expensive if you are wanting a premium variety.
The bulbs I purchased were already in pots and ready to go. I popped the cardboard top off the top and read the instructions on what to do. “Add water sparingly until growth is visible.” Hmm, not too difficult there. Growth was already visible from sitting in the warm store. I added some water and set the pots in a sunny window. A week later I was back at Walmart and bought 2 more of the same varieties and did the same thing with them.
Their growth was slow and this is what they looked like after a week or so.
I kept them watered and in the windows where they would get as much sunlight as possible. Their growth picked up and leaves began popping out. About a month later they were crawling up the window.
I decided to measure them. 25 inches and counting. Two of them anyway. The other two were taking their sweet time. They were also beginning to show some color.
On December 24 , approximately 7 weeks after I purchased them, the first one was starting to open up.
They had gotten taller – now 31 inches – and the shorter ones were beginning to put on growth.
By December 29 we had some beautiful blooms as big as my hand. Turns out the red ones are a bit earlier in blooming then the pink ones.
If you live in USDA 7b or warmer, you can plant your Amaryllis outside in the garden. They are not much different than other spring blooming bulbs. With a little care and special attention, eventually a forced bulb will revert back to a spring bloomer. As beautiful as a bed of Amaryllis would be, I think I will continue to force mine so as to enjoy those bloooms in the dead of winter.
Have you grown Amaryllis? Do you grow yours outside? What varieties are your favorite? Will this be your year to try your hand at forcing Amaryllis for some holiday color?
Did you cut the plant after it grew, or did you just let it die out?
Hi Summer – I cut off the dead flower stalk and then just let the plant continue to grow on the windowsill. Any leaves that subsequently die get cut off. Sometimes the plant will flower the following year and sometimes they won’t. Sometimes they will flower in March or even later. There are ways to try to force the plant to flower in time for Christmas. I just have not had a chance to make that happen. However, the plant foliage is a nice addition to my indoor plant shelf.
Hope this answers your question.
Karen