Gardening Charlotte

Amaryllis in Bloom

Spring may be taking its sweet time arriving but my Amaryllis bulbs are nicely filling in the gap.

After a two to three month rest period and repotting them in new soil, the bulbs will grow a stalk or two, sometimes an inch a day apart, until flowers appear on top.

If you have a bulb that has stopped blooming and growing green leaves, let it rest for 2-3 months in a dark place without water.

Once you are ready to get it growing again, repot it in a pot about an inch wider than the bulb with new potting soil. Plant the bulb with only the root part in soil. The bulb should look like it’s sitting on top of the soil. Water until moist but not waterlogged. A spray mist bottle comes in handy if you’re not sure how much water to add.

Place in a sunny window.

Within a few days, you should see green growth at the top of the bulb. If enough energy has been stored, the tips of green buds will appear.  If not, green leaves will start to grow. Let them grow. The leaves are solar collectors. The plant will use photosynthesis to turn the sun into energy stored in the bulb for blooming during the next cycle.

Once started, the plant stalk will grow a little every day, sometimes reaching 3-4 feet high. I stake mine once they reach 3 feet to ensure they don’t fall over.

During this growth period, mix compost into the soil to keep the soil microorganisms well fed so they help feed energy to the bulb as well.

Once the flowers bloom, they will last for several weeks. Keep them out of direct sun and the bulbs watered daily. You can also cut the flowers and use them in a flower vase.

Once the flowers are finished blooming, cut off the flower stalk and let the plant keep growing. Leaves will appear next. The leaves will re-energize the bulb so that after another rest period, enough energy is stored for the bulb to bloom again.

The green leaf growing stage can last several months so let them grow. When mine have leaves through summer, I put them outside in shade until the leaves die back.

If you want to do a better job of timing when your bulbs will bloom than I did, once the leaves die off store the bulbs in a cool dry place. Check them every month or so to make sure they aren’t deteriorating in storage. When you know you want blooming, count back 6-8 weeks depending on the growing conditions. Less if its warmer, more if its cooler. Pot your bulb, water and get them started growing at that point.

When you see small bulbs next to the large bulb, you can collect those and place them in a separate pot to start a new bulb. It can take several years to get them large enough to bloom but its fun to watch them grow.

Charlotte Ekker Wiggins is a beekeeper, gardener and sometimes cook. Published by El Dorado Springs Sun once in print and online with author’s permission. Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. This column may not be reprinted, republished or otherwise distributed without author’s permission. Contact Charlotte at gardeningcharlotte at gmail dot com.

APPLE BLOSSOM TIME – These “Apple Blossom” Amaryllis are adding a spring-look to my inside garden.

MYSTERY BLOSSOM? – Two more red Amaryllis bulbs left over from Christmas are blooming again, “Minerva” is the red and white one. I don’t know what the smaller all red one is called on the right. (Photos by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins).