Here is my favorite one this year...Pssst! Please don't tell the others.
Garden...2009:Here they are in my front flower garden...Red Lion and one whose name I forgot...a mini one. They're on vacation just sitting there in the sun...soakin' up some rays. It was just about time to bring them in for their brief stay in the basement. No food...no water...dark room...what a shock after all the tender loving care they were given. It's not enough that the two of them had to share a pot...now this!
So after their brief time relaxing in the basement...they came upstairs and started doing their thing. Now they weren't the only Christmas attraction...two others had come to share the ooooh's and ahhhhh's. A red one and a white one (Charisma and Christmas Gift) They all put a lot of effort into their show of blooms. Each one bloomed with two flower stalks. I bored you over and over with their pictures.
So after their brief time relaxing in the basement...they came upstairs and started doing their thing. Now they weren't the only Christmas attraction...two others had come to share the ooooh's and ahhhhh's. A red one and a white one (Charisma and Christmas Gift) They all put a lot of effort into their show of blooms. Each one bloomed with two flower stalks. I bored you over and over with their pictures. Amaryliss...2010:
The two who spent their time together in one pot in the front garden are in the foreground. A new stalk is up and ready to pop open and if you look very closely down at the bottom...another bud is coming up. The two new ones have sent up a third stalk each. All of them came from American Meadows http://www.americanmeadows.com/FallFlowerBulbs.aspx The bulbs were so huge...I think that this is the reason for the success.. They are not your run of the mill bulbs sold at the big box stores. They are on sale right now...Can you imagine 3 Red Lion Amaryliss for $19.99???
The two who spent their time together in one pot in the front garden are in the foreground. A new stalk is up and ready to pop open and if you look very closely down at the bottom...another bud is coming up. The two new ones have sent up a third stalk each. All of them came from American Meadows http://www.americanmeadows.com/FallFlowerBulbs.aspx The bulbs were so huge...I think that this is the reason for the success.. They are not your run of the mill bulbs sold at the big box stores. They are on sale right now...Can you imagine 3 Red Lion Amaryliss for $19.99???Balisha
4 comments:
My Charisma is blooming now too. My last one. I am going to miss those big blooms. They have been about the only color I had this winter. Everyone is probably tired of my amaryllis pictures too but I never get tired of them.Do you keep yours in the basement all summer Balisha? I have been wondering how to keep them to bloom again next winter.
Hi Lona,
I just put them in a sunny flower bed and water and feed just like I do the other flowers.
As summer ends, you may notice the leaves yellowing or withering or maybe not... 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 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.
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.
This is exactly as I did it. I did this for a couple of summers with the first two...they still are blooming.
Balisha
Hi Balisha...
Di at The Blue Ridge Gal is raising a amaryllis also..and it has kept her spirits up through these snow storms. I don't know if she has as much knowledge about them as you do..but thought I would give her a heads up just in case. :)
How are you? It's been in the 70's here..but our drought is over. Thank heavens. Did I tell you that? Lots of pruning going on out in our little yard. The fence is being pushed down by the neighbors riot of vines behind us..and the home is empty and has been for a year. What to do, what to do... :)
I cannot believe the size of that earthquake in Chili..not much being said about it this time in blogland. If there is one in California..please send in the troops..ok?
Hugs,
Mona
My dil used to give me an amaryllis for Christmas each year. You know the little kit that blooms about Valentine's day. I've planted them outside and they bloom each summer. I just love them. My grandmother had them across the back flowerbed at her home. I associate them with her...and it is a good feeling.
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