Unlike the old shoe that is worn down at the heel and cast aside, the amaryllis bulb that has been forced into bloom around Christmas or during January and early February can be utilized for further beauty in the garden.
Digging for Bulbs
Amaryllis growers start digging in October. The bulbs are dried for a few days, then shipped to their destination.
As soon as the bulbs are received, they should be unpacked and stood up on the root end. This enables the air to circulate around them, and they finish their drying process.
Conditions of Bulbs
Store them in a cool dry place where there is no danger of freezing. If bulbs become too chilled, the buds will blast. Begin checking the bulbs for signs of growth about 2 weeks after they are received.
Usually, they start buds in 2 to 4 weeks, depending upon the moisture content when dug and how long they are allowed to dry before shipping.
Potting the Bulbs
As soon as the flower bud appears, put the bulb in at least a 6” inches pot; 7” inches bulb pots are preferred.
Soil Mixture
Use a soil mixture of 1/3 sandy leaf mold, 1/3 coarse sand, garden soil mixed, and 1/3 compost.
Have the soil mixture dry, so that it will sift through and around the roots. Some bulbs are received with all roots trimmed away.
Blooming of the Plant
While it does not seem to affect the blooming of the plant, they are much harder to keep anchored in the pot, and they are slower to start root growth.
Cover the rounded portion of the bulb with soil, leaving the upper half uncovered, and set the pot in a pan of water until the surface soil is damp.
Do not water too much afterward, just keep the top sail moist to the fingertips. Too much water may cause the bulb to rot. It usually takes about 4 weeks for the bud to develop flowers.
Amateurs Enjoy Hybridizing
Many amateur gardeners are having fun pollinating the blooms to obtain their own seed to grow into bulbs.
It takes 3 to 4 years for a seedling to bloom if the seeds are grown outside. Under favorable greenhouse conditions, they have been made to bloom in two years.
Pollinating Amaryllis Bloom
It is advisable not to be too hasty to pollinate your amaryllis bloom. Enjoy it for several days, and then pollinate, since the blossom starts to fade as soon as pollinated.
If amaryllis is growing outside, the pollen should be taken as soon as the anthers have become dusty looking,
Capsules like the ones that druggists use are excellent for storing pollen; if it is kept in the refrigerator, it will remain viable for two months.
The Procedure Is Simple
Pull the capsule ends apart, and hold the larger end under the anther. Press the anther stem between the capsule edges, and cut the stem in two, making sure the anther falls into the capsule.
It is usually about the third day before the pistil is ready to receive the pollen; in windy sections, the pollen will be blown away by that time, unless saved.
When the 3 prongs of the pistil have curled back, apply the pollen dust. In a few days, the seed capsule will begin to swell. Let the blossom fade and drop off naturally lest you injure the seed pod in trying to remove it.
Seed Development
Amaryllis that is forced into the house will set, and develop seeds if pollinated. Some growers think that letting the plant seed destroys the bloom for another year.
I have not found this to be true. If the plant is cared for, and fed well, it develops lusty leaf growth and blooms again in the Spring.
Outdoor Planting
As soon as the weather is warm, the potted amaryllis plants are moved to the garden. They are knocked from the pots, being very careful not to injure the seed pod or stem, if one is present.
Bed Setting
Set them in a bed, with shrubs for a background, in soil that has an abundance of humus.
Dig a hole deep enough to set the plant so that the top of the bulb is 5” inches under the surface of the soil, 4” inches is our freezing depth in the worst of winter.
Barnyard Manure
A mulch of barnyard manure is spread around the plant and is watered along with the rest of the plants in that bed.
When the amaryllis plant is moved into the garden, it can be forgotten except to enjoy the Spring’s bloom and to mulch twice a year.
Watch Seed Pods Carefully
Watch the seed pods carefully on the plants outside. The seeds are wafer-thin and are easily carried away by the winds.
Bulbs that bloom early inside develop their seeds before it is time to set them out and there is no problem of losing the seed.
It takes from 6 to 8 weeks for seeds to develop and mature. When the pods have begun to turn yellow and begin to crack, it is time to harvest.
Put the seeds in an uncovered box for 4 or 5 (lays, stirring them occasionally so they will dry without becoming mildewed. They are ready to plant as soon as they dry.
Planting the Seeds
Some growers carefully stand the seeds on the edge when planting, and others lay them flat. I have tried them both ways and can see no appreciable difference.
- Cover the seeds with one-fourth inch of leaf mold or sifted peat moss.
- Keep damp but not wet until the thin grass-like blades appear.
- Letting the soil become dry stops germination, and the seeds rot.
- If planting in the open ground, plant in shade.
- The hot sun dries the top of the soil too rapidly.
- Planting the seeds in a bulb pan is perhaps the most successful for full germination.
- Use a soil of 1/4 sifted compost, 1/2 sandy leaf mold, and 1/4 garden soil.
- Let them grow in the pots undisturbed for the first year.
Transplanting the Seedlings
On a cool cloudy day, the year-old seedlings are transferred to the garden. Plant in a previously prepared bed. They like plenty of humus in the soil as they have a fibrous, brittle root system.
Highly Alkaline Soils
In alkaline soil areas, it is better to apply superphosphate in bands two inches under the root system.
In highly alkaline soils, the calcium unites with superphosphate, and makes a non-soluble salt, if the superphosphate is simply worked into the soil.
Planting of Seeds
Applying it in concentrated zones makes it available to the plants. Plant the seedlings an inch deeper than they are growing in the pots. Set 12” to 16” inches apart in rows that are 19” inches apart.
Winter Care in Texas
When the frost has killed the tops, mulch the seedling bed with at least. three inches of stable bedding and more is preferred.
Stable Bedding
The stable bedding is more than half a straw and does not pack tightly.
If a tight packing mulch is used, the seedlings are smothered.
Mulching
Aside from watering during periods of drought, they receive no other care other than another inch of mulch added in the Spring.
If the mulch is not added during the Spring and early Winter, the enlarging bulb gets too near the surface and becomes frozen without the mulch.
First Seedling Blooms
Amaryllis seedlings will start blooming in the third year. If a seedling bloom is disappointing, leave it alone until the second year of bloom. They are much prettier after the first year.
Worthy Seedlings
If the seedling is worthy of a place in the garden, take it up in October, let it dry and come into bloom in a pot in the house.
When the foliage has grown to be 10” to 12” inches high, and the weather is warm, set the plants, 4” to 5” inches deep, in the garden, where it is to remain.
American Hybrid Bulb
It will bloom for 5 to 10 years without being disturbed.
An American hybrid bulb, taken in front of the ground after 7 years, measured 17” inches in circumference and had four bloom stalks with four to five blooms.
Depth of Planting
One oddity about this interesting flower is that if the bulb is planted five inches deep in soil when first received, it will rot or smother.
Development of Foliage
If it is allowed to bloom, and the foliage develops to a foot in length, it can be planted deep.
The Winters in the Southwest are rather severe. The thermometer hovered from 0° degrees to 10° degrees during the Winter of 1950 and 1951, for a full week.
Pure White Bulb
A pure white bulb from Herman Brown and a pure pink from Van Meeuven of Holland, planted in the way described above, came romping up to bloom when warm days came.
Seedlings grown from the American and Dutch strains are developing more hardiness from their outdoor growing.
Rewarding Plant
The Amaryllis is a rewarding plant. It requires little care and gives a month of bloom if the plant is well-established.
44659 by Iva M. Johnson