Column
GREEN THUMB
Bold, bright amaryllis offer holiday dazzle
By Cheryl Cadwell
Amaryllis are one of the most spectacular holiday flowers. The botanical name is Hippeastrum, which means horse star. From the size of the flowers, the name is very applicable. The huge blossoms can grow to be 8 inches across. I particularly like the plant as part of an arrangement. The potted plant can be set into a basket and the pot hidden by evergreen foliage, sphagnum moss or pots of ivy for a very dramatic effect.
Kept in a cool location the blooms can last up to six weeks. If the plant is healthy, it also may send up a second flower stalk or scape, which will flower for several more weeks. If you like your flowers a bit more demure, there are small-flowered amaryllis. They are equally lovely and these diminutive plants produce more scapes, which means more flowers.
For the purist, these big bulbs should have been started in October in order to bloom for the holidays. True, but most garden centers have them in pots and ready to pop. This will spare you the finger-crossing trauma of hoping the buds will set.
Make sure to buy plants that have buds that are just beginning to open and, if possible, have scapes with buds. When purchased late in the season, the plants may not be in the best of shape. Scapes already will be up, possibly a little bent. The foliage may be pale from being confined in a container. Dont worry. Set them in a cool, bright spot. (Avoid a hot south-facing window). Water lightly, and they should recover in a few days. Rotting is a major problem with amaryllis, so water carefully. Let the soil dry out before you water again.
Amaryllis can be kept around for many years. When the flowers are gone, cut off the scapes. Dont remove the leaves. They will be producing the nutrients needed to revive the bulb.
Set the plant in a warm spot with bright sunlight. When you water, add a light dose of a root and bloom fertilizer. Once warm weather arrives, set the plant outside and continue to water and feed on a regular schedule.
One problem with bringing an amaryllis back to bloom is dealing with a tendency of commercial growers to cut off the roots of the bulb before they pot them up. This is why it is important that you use a root-stimulating fertilizer and not a high nitrogen one. In the spring, when you set the plant outside, check and see how the root system is doing. If there is a very small root system, keep using the rooting fertilizer. The foliage will continue to grow, but until the root system matures, the plant will not bloom. Put the plant in partial shade when outdoors or the leaves may burn. Dont be tempted to move the bulb into a larger pot; amaryllis like tight quarters. It can survive for several years in the same pot. If it is given too much good soil and space, you will have 4-foot foliage and no flowers.
In early September, start the reblooming process. Stop watering the plant and keep it in a cool location. When the leaves yellow, cut them off close to the top of the bulb. Wait a month and then start the rejuvenating process.
Clean off an inch or two of the soil around the top of the bulb. Replace it with fresh soil and add a little bulb fertilizer. Keep the soil barely moist. Add no other fertilizer. In a few weeks, the flower bud will appear. The foliage will follow. When the bud appears, begin to water and feed on the same schedule as when you first bought the plant.
By December, that big horse star should be in full bloom.
Cheryl Cadwell, a master gardener at the University of Rhode Island, writes columns for the URI Cooperative Extension Education Center. For information, call the centers Gardening and Food Safety hot line at (800) 448-1011, send e-mail to MGgarden@etal.uri.edu or visit www.urimga.org.
Bold, bright amaryllis offer holiday dazzle
By Cheryl Cadwell
Amaryllis are one of the most spectacular holiday flowers. The botanical name is Hippeastrum, which means horse star. From the size of the flowers, the name is very applicable. The huge blossoms can grow to be 8 inches across. I particularly like the plant as part of an arrangement. The potted plant can be set into a basket and the pot hidden by evergreen foliage, sphagnum moss or pots of ivy for a very dramatic effect.
Kept in a cool location the blooms can last up to six weeks. If the plant is healthy, it also may send up a second flower stalk or scape, which will flower for several more weeks. If you like your flowers a bit more demure, there are small-flowered amaryllis. They are equally lovely and these diminutive plants produce more scapes, which means more flowers.
For the purist, these big bulbs should have been started in October in order to bloom for the holidays. True, but most garden centers have them in pots and ready to pop. This will spare you the finger-crossing trauma of hoping the buds will set.
Make sure to buy plants that have buds that are just beginning to open and, if possible, have scapes with buds. When purchased late in the season, the plants may not be in the best of shape. Scapes already will be up, possibly a little bent. The foliage may be pale from being confined in a container. Dont worry. Set them in a cool, bright spot. (Avoid a hot south-facing window). Water lightly, and they should recover in a few days. Rotting is a major problem with amaryllis, so water carefully. Let the soil dry out before you water again.
Amaryllis can be kept around for many years. When the flowers are gone, cut off the scapes. Dont remove the leaves. They will be producing the nutrients needed to revive the bulb.
Set the plant in a warm spot with bright sunlight. When you water, add a light dose of a root and bloom fertilizer. Once warm weather arrives, set the plant outside and continue to water and feed on a regular schedule.
One problem with bringing an amaryllis back to bloom is dealing with a tendency of commercial growers to cut off the roots of the bulb before they pot them up. This is why it is important that you use a root-stimulating fertilizer and not a high nitrogen one. In the spring, when you set the plant outside, check and see how the root system is doing. If there is a very small root system, keep using the rooting fertilizer. The foliage will continue to grow, but until the root system matures, the plant will not bloom. Put the plant in partial shade when outdoors or the leaves may burn. Dont be tempted to move the bulb into a larger pot; amaryllis like tight quarters. It can survive for several years in the same pot. If it is given too much good soil and space, you will have 4-foot foliage and no flowers.
In early September, start the reblooming process. Stop watering the plant and keep it in a cool location. When the leaves yellow, cut them off close to the top of the bulb. Wait a month and then start the rejuvenating process.
Clean off an inch or two of the soil around the top of the bulb. Replace it with fresh soil and add a little bulb fertilizer. Keep the soil barely moist. Add no other fertilizer. In a few weeks, the flower bud will appear. The foliage will follow. When the bud appears, begin to water and feed on the same schedule as when you first bought the plant.
By December, that big horse star should be in full bloom.
Cheryl Cadwell, a master gardener at the University of Rhode Island, writes columns for the URI Cooperative Extension Education Center. For information, call the centers Gardening and Food Safety hot line at (800) 448-1011, send e-mail to MGgarden@etal.uri.edu or visit www.urimga.org.