10-04-2004, 01:02 AM
|
|
|
Surprise Amaryllis And Question
In article ,
says...
I bought my first amaryllis at Rite-Aid about 3 years ago. I stuck it in a pot
with some purple shamrocks and it bloomed in a couple of weeks. From some
reading, I thought the leaves would die and then I was to cut them back, remove
the bulb, and after dormancy could force more blooms. I just had a few years
of the shamrock constantly blooming and the boring amaryllis leaves and I
didn't know what to do so just kept them in the east window and watered them
when dry.
I watered the plants a few days ago and noticed nothing. Then, today, there
are these two huge red flowers ready for the holiday. How do I rest the bulb
properly after this? Could I get some more flowers by Christmas?
Amaryllis bulbs really should spend the summers outdoors. There are
several factors in getting it to bloom successfuly year after year. It
should be in a pot that is only two inches bigger than the diameter of
the bulb. It needs to be put outside when there is no more risk of
frost, and left outside either until there is a risk of frost in the
fall, or the foliage had died back naturally. It should be given a weak
(1/4 strength) fertilizer every watering, or every other watering. It
does not need a cold period, but should rest for three months of so in
a dark cool place. After this period, you can bring it back into the
light, and water it sparingly. In about six weeks a flower stalk should
emerge. Once it has started to emerge you can start regular watering
and light fertilizing.
The flower scapes start to form 12-18 months before they bloom, so it
might take a couple of years to get it blooming regularly. They don't
naturally bloom at Christmas - Easter is a more normal flowering time.
The ones you see for sale in the fall have been pulled from the field
early, and dried a couple of months before the ideal time - they have
been forced for Christmas blooms. That doesn't really harm them, but it
means that you frequently won't get a bloom the next year, because they
didn't have enough time to form the scapes.
If you want Christmas blooms, buy a new one in the fall.
BP
|