Amaryllis

It is going to be a lovely red.

I love amaryllis blooms. They are rather spectacular. I have bought a number of amaryllis bulbs over the years and always carefully followed the instruction that came with it - such as: after blooming the bulb should be laid on its side, left to dry, etc. Not once did I succeed in having an amaryllis flower for a second time.

Ahh . . . two flowers.

Starting to position themselves to open.

When I bought this one I decided to ignore the instructions on the box. The worst that could happen was that once again my bulb would never flower again. This however, is now the third year that my amaryllis bulb has flowered.

First one nearly fully open, the second (behind)
still not lifted up its head.

What I have been doing is as follows:
1. After flowering, I continue to feed and water the plant until the autumn, to give the bulb a chance to recuperate after expending the energy of producing such a magnificent blossom.
2. In the autumn I put the plant in our loggia. It is unheated but frost free and gets plenty of natural light. 3. I water the amaryllis plant very occasionally through the winter. The leaves gradually die off.
4. In the spring I start to water it a little more often.

Both flowers fully open.

Usually amaryllis bulbs seem to be in the shops for flowering at Christmas time, and I wonder if this is why they prove so tricky to have flower again. It seems more natural for a plant to flower in the spring or summer. I make no claims of expertise – and perhaps I’ve just been lucky, but I hope I continue to be lucky next year as well so that I can enjoy the fabulous deep red display of this beautiful plant.