GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

16-12-2005, 10:42 AM posted to rec.gardens

On 15 Dec 2005 16:11:00 -0800, wrote:
I am completely new to gardening and amaryllis, so please my
question might be naive for most of you here. I have been given this
amaryllis, a glass container, and some polished river rocks by my
friend. I was told to put the river rocks in the glass and the
amaryllis bulk on top of the rocks, then put water in to emerge about
1/4 of the bulk in water. I guess that's all that I need to do and
expect the amaryllis to grow.

Amaryllis are top-heavy and "tippy" when in full bloom; river rocks aren't
going to help the situation, alas. Me, myself and I, I prefer plain old
potting soil with some extra sand for bulb forcing and a drained plastic or
(my favorite) clay pot -- drains well enough that bulbs don't rot, heavy
enough that the pots don't tip, and much less tricky to water properly.
Plant so that about 1/4 of the bulb is out of the soil.
Put the drained pot in a decorative "cache pot" for display. Don't let the
pot sit in water, or you may get root or bulb rot started. Toss the
polished rocks on top of the soil for decoration if you like.

Kay