Of all indoor flowering plants, the Amaryllis is one of the easiest to bring into bloom.
Amaryllis will flower in water, with the bulb’s base barely touching the water, and in commercial plant fiber, in poor soil, or soil prepared especially for it.
Amaryllis are favorite plants with indoor gardeners because of their large, showy, trumpet flowers.
They are always a handsome sight, and a group of three or four plants flowering at the same time in your sitting or plant room is a soul-satisfying picture, especially on cold winter days, the usual flowering time of these bulbs.
Although Amaryllis will flourish in water or poor soil, you can get a much better bloom if you provide good soil enriched with old manure and bone meal.
If you expect to flower your bulbs again, and they will go on performing for many years, you will have to grow them in good soil, so bulbs will have the strength to form buds for the following year’s forcing and growth.
Formula For Soil
Many formulas for soil are given, but any mixture that has fertilizer added is suitable.
You may use a general potting mixture with bonemeal in it. A formula for bulbs is excellent too.
This may consist of six parts garden loam, four parts sand, three parts leaf mold, and one part rotted or dehydrated manure, plus bonemeal at the rate of a teaspoon to a 5-inch pot.
Amaryllis’ fondness for humus is demonstrated by the mixture of a Dutch specialist, who uses two-thirds leaf mold and one-third old manure. This soil, of course, is changed each year.
Ideal Potting
In potting these large bulbs, choose a pot that just about fits them, as they do better when pot-bound.
Avoid using pots that are more than 3″ inches greater than the bulb’s diameter, or use a pot that leaves about an inch of space between the bulb and the inside of the pot.
Put the usual crocks at the pot’s base, and set bulbs so that the upper half sticks out of the soil.
Be careful when planting not to cut any of the roots attached to the bulbs.
Watering
Watering at first should be slight, giving just enough to keep the soil barely moist. As the plant is not yet growing, it cannot draw moisture in any amount.
Newly planted bulbs should be placed aside to form roots, not necessarily dark, where the temperature is about 60° to 70° degrees Fahrenheit.
When strong roots have developed, and flower stems are several inches long, bring pots to light gradually until they rest in a sunny window.
Amaryllis are sun lovers, and although they will flower even in north windows, the flowers are pale and without the brilliant coloring that makes them exciting.
Care During Growing Period
Keep soil moist so as not to dry out, and feed with a liquid fertilizer a few times up until the flower buds show their color.
As the stem gets taller, a bamboo stake will be needed to keep it straight or from falling over.
Also, get in the habit of turning the pot around so the sun will strike the plant from all directions.
To watch the last bloom fade is a sad sight, but once it is gone, there is nothing to do but cut the stalk close to the crown to prevent seed formation.
Gardeners who are very fond of Amaryllis keep several coming along, thus, by the time the last is finished, spring is well on its way, and our thoughts wander to the outside garden.
Important Step Of Amaryllis Life
Now comes the most important step in the life of amaryllis and your test as a window gardener.
After the flowers are gone, the leaves begin to lengthen, an indication that the growing period of the bulb is just beginning.
At this time, many gardeners think that amaryllis has to clone its job. It has as far as flowering is concerned, but not as regards the maturing of the foliage.
Therefore, it is very important to keep watering plants and feeding them from time to time.
When warm weather arrives, place them, pots and all, in the ground in a partially shaded place in the garden, or take the bulb; out of their pots and plant them directly in the ground, as some experts prefer to do.
Watering And Feeding Program
Continue with the watering and feeding program during the summer. This is the period during which bulbs manufacture food to form next year’s flower buds.
With the advent of cool weather in the early fall, bring plants indoors and gradually reduce the watering, just enough to keep the leaves from wilting.
As the leaves begin to yellow, decrease the watering and eventually place the plants in warm storage until the growth cycle starts again.
When starting into growth the following fall or winter, repotting is not necessary.
Simply remove the old soil from the top of the pot without disturbing the roots and add a 50-50 mixture of loam and decomposed manure, with the usual addition of bonemeal.
In Purchasing Bulbs
Look for clean, firm ones. According to Dutch growers, flattish ones are best and avoid those with high necks or crowns, a sign of a poor bulb.
It is also important to purchase early in the season, as bulbs deteriorate if they are kept out of the soil too long. They send out stalks and flowers on stems that are too short.
Choosing varieties is a matter of taste, as well as the pocketbook.
The newer hybrids are expensive, but good amaryllis in the lower-priced brackets may be purchased from reliable bulb dealers.
In most cases, colors are bright and vivid, but soft pastel shades are also available.
If you have your eye on some gorgeous new hybrids, you might look for Ludwig’s Scarlet, with enormous eight-inch flowers.
Other excellent brilliant reds are Crimson Velvet and Peacefulness.
Apple Blossom is white, touched with pink, and Rosy Wing a distinct pink.
Ludwig’s Dazzler and White Giant are whites, always a favorite choice. For oranges, consider Orange Empress.
Window Gardeners
Old-time window gardeners who have grown amaryllis with smaller, less spectacular, though more delicate, blossoms may wonder why their leaves do not die after flowering.
These are other types of amaryllis whose leaves remain evergreen.
These plants must be kept in good light during the winter and watered enough to keep them from drying out.
44659 by George Taloumis