Growing Gorgeous Amaryllis Indoors

My neighbor has had his Amaryllis for about 10 years. He showed them to me

one day and I couldn't believe my eyes! In his windowed laundry room, there

stood the biggest Amaryllis bulbs, flowers and leaves I have ever seen! They

were giants! I know Amaryllis can get pretty big, but I never imagined this
big.
I'd say the leaves were about 2 1/2" wide or more and 4 feet or more
tall.
The flowers were probably double what we're used to seeing and same
with the
bulbs. I didn't know they could get that big! At that point, I
didn't even
know they could be grown for flowers year to year. Now I know
differently and
I'll tell you what I have
learned.

Planting.

Late October is the ideal time to plant, after
the bulbs have gone through a
dormant period. If there are off shoots, you
can take them off and plant them
as new plants. Use a small pot in relation
to the bulb size. Clay or ceramic
pots would be best because they are
heavier and will help keep the plant
from toppling over. Give only an inch
of room for soil on the sides of the bulb.
Amaryllis prefers a sandy-loam
soil mix. You can mix your own by combining
one part leaf mold or composted
manure, one part loamy soil, and one part
coarse sand. Some garden centers
also sell soil mixes especially for bulbs. When
you plant the bulb, keep the
upper half out of the soil.

Water

Water thoroughly after planting
and keep the soil slightly moist until
flowering. At flowering, increase
waterings to prolong flowers. The blooms will
last 6-8 weeks depending on
temperature, light and variety.

Light and Temperature

When grown
in the home, Amaryllis need as much sun as they can get! A
southern window
is best. They prefer 70-75 degrees for best growth. But when the
plant
begins to flower, cooler temperatures (60-65 degrees) will extend the

blooms. As mentioned above, my neighbor had his in his windowed laundry
room.
The windows were southern and western which means lots of sun. One
more
important tip is that a laundry room produces humidity so this is
something else
they like.

Fertilizer.

Fertilize at half the
recommended rate of any water-soluble fertilizer every
6 weeks or so.
Fertilizer will determine the size and quality of flowers and
foliage.

After Flowering.

Good quality bulbs may produce up to six flowers
on a single stalk. When a
flower fades, cut the stalk about 2" from the
base. This will save energy for
the other flowers. Don't cut the foliage
because this is next year's food for
next year's flowers. Keep watering and
fertilizing the foliage as you would
before flowering until next September.
At this point, put the plant into a
warm, dark and dry place such as a
closet. Don't water or fertilize during this
rest period. Then late October,
move it back to the sunny window and start
the process all over again.

When properly cared for, Amaryllis can flower for up to 75 years! So
take
care of yours for years of gorgeous flowers.

Seed Newsvine

Bookmark this article in your preferred program

Comments

Add Comment

Popular Articles in this cathegory

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.