Prized for their large, multicolored winter blooms, Amaryllis plants are also one of the easiest to grow. In fact, you can grow Amaryllis in just water, but I like to keep them potted up to bloom yet another year. In an earlier blog, Holiday Decorating With Winter Blooms, I included a brief description of Amaryllis which I’ll expand upon today in hopes of inspiring more of you to take these amazing plants for a test drive. They are really the perfect “beginners” bulb and this is the perfect time of year to plant them!
There are many different types of Amaryllis available for growing indoors. The earliest variety is the South African Amaryllis or Christmas Amaryllis which blooms anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks after potting up. This means that if you plant your bulb sometime in November, you should have flowers for Christmas and New Year’s. For this reason, they make ideal holiday gifts! South African Amaryllis have different sized flowers and heights and fall into three groups: Sonata, Sonatini, and Symphony.
Dutch Amaryllis usually bloom in 8 to 12 weeks after potting up and there are single as well as double varieties; there are also mini and giant Amaryllis. These vigorous plants grow so quickly that you can almost sit back and watch it happen! By choosing a variety of different types, or by planting fresh bulbs every couple of weeks, you can stagger blooms for a continuous show from winter into spring.
I like the fact that individual Amaryllis take up little tabletop space; they’re easily tucked into holiday decorations and grouped with other flowering plants. By placing three or more pots into a larger decorative container and covering with moss, you can create quite a dramatic effect for larger spaces. Some varieties grow up to 18″ tall so you may need to place stakes in the pots for support (as shown in the photo below). Shorter varieties do well on their own. Large or small, Amaryllis create quite a show when grouped together!
The flowers of Amaryllis, or Hippeastrum as they are known in the horticultural world, can be as large as dinner plates and usually come three or four to a single stem. The many vivid colors are iridescent and because of their shimmering quality, the blooms blend particularly well with sparkling holiday lights and decor. They also range in style from demure to brazen, so there’s truly an Amaryllis for everyone’s taste!
Unless you purchase a plant that’s already growing, you will start your journey with an Amaryllis bulb such as the ones shown below. The better the bulb, the better the bloom, so it’s wise to purchase healthy plump bulbs from a reputable garden site that features Amaryllis. I highly recommend the John Scheepers, Beauty from Bulbs, website. Use a quality potting mix as well, one that is light and fluffy in texture. Pot them up with roughly the top third of the bulb remaining above the surface; this will keep the bulb from getting waterlogged. The pot should be only about an inch larger in circumference than the bulb since Amaryllis like to feel snug in their beds. Placing pebbles or moss on the soil surface finishes the look with a decorative touch.
I hope I’ve encouraged you to give Amaryllis a try. For very little effort on your part, you’ll be rewarded with beauty and color to fill your winter days. The boxed Amaryllis “kits” that you find everywhere this time of year are inexpensive and suitable for beginners in that they contain everything you need to get growing. More experienced gardeners and houseplant enthusiasts can choose from the myriad types of Amaryllis now available and plant with abandon!
For an excellent article on everything you need to know about growing and caring for Amaryllis, click on this link: https://www.johnscheepers.com/hamaryllis.html