A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Amaryllis Care


I had a beautiful amaryllis last year and really wanted to save it. Actually I had two...a reg. sized one and a mini. I ended up putting them in the same pot after their bloom. I did it to save room...maybe a mistake. I haven't had luck getting them to bloom again. My daughter's always bloom again and she does nothing special to them. In the past, I have put them in a shaded area This year they were in the sun and I fed them like the other plants. I found these directions and I plan to follow them this year. My amaryllis have been in my front flower bed all summer. The leaves are just now showing a bit of deterioration. I am going to be bringing them in soon. The directions seem so easy to follow...hope it works.
Balisha



ENTERING DORMANT PERIOD

As summer ends, you may notice the leaves yellowing or withering. Bring the plant indoors before the first frost. The plant should be removed from outdoors the first week of October. Cut off the dead leaves at the top of the bulb's neck. Let any live leaves remain. Keep the bulb in its pot. If it had been removed from the pot to be placed outdoors, re-pot it immediately after removing from ground - do not allow roots to dry out. At this point the bulb has an extensive root system unlike a newly-purchased bulb.
For the bulb to flower again, we must simulate its life cycle, and force it to go dormant. Put the potted amaryllis in a cool (55 degrees F), dimly-lit place such as a cellar for 6-8 weeks. You should not water the bulb. As the leaves yellow and wither, cut them off at the top of the bulb's neck.
FORCING AFTER DORMANCY

End the dormant period when you are ready to start the blooming period once more. Start the forcing process 6-8 weeks before you want blooming. Cut any dead tissue off the bulb's neck. Remove the top 1/2 inch of soil from the pot, replace with new soil. Do not remove the bulb from the pot. Water the potted bulb ONCE thoroughly, and place the pot in normal indoor temperature.
Take care of this now, as if it were a newly-purchased bulb. The bulb should break dormancy and start new growth with the energy it stored during its summer period in leaf.

3 comments:

Judy said...

Thanks for the info. I will have to print that out. Also, I love that song, What a Wonderful World, and we do have a wonderful world. I was visiting my older sister this morning and I told her about your post on the geese. She is 76 and was very interested. Neither of us knew those facts.

Roses and Lilacs said...

I have bulbs I've had for six or seven years. They bloom every winter. The bulbs will multiply and will probably need to be separated when they get too large. They will outgrow the pots if there are more than one bulb in a smallish pot. I've given away a lot of new bulbs to people wanting to try them.
Marnie

Balisha said...

Hi Marnie,
I hope that I have good luck with these. I always got leaves in the past.

Hi Judy,
Thanks for reading and commenting. I had some of your honey and cinnamon today.