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Amaryllis blooming for Christmas
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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Amaryllis
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I put my 5 amaryllis bulbs (that hadn't bloomed in 3 years) outside in full sun in last April. One has now bloomed mid June and is now blooming again July 4. Another one is about to bloom. What do I do with them now? Leave them outside till fall then bring them in? Put them in darkness so they go dormant?
See the directions about for “after bloom”:
Bring it in at the end of August and cut OFF the watering. Let it dry out to induce a period of dormancy. Put the pot in a cool (around <chrome_annotation style=”-webkit-tap-highlight-color:rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3);-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(24, 22, 22);box-sizing:border-box;caret-color:rgb(24, 22, 22);color:rgb(24, 22, 22);font-family:Lora, georgia, serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;” role=”link”>50°F</chrome_annotation>), dark place. Pull off any dried-up leaves.
I received my Amaryllis for Mothers day and it came with the bulb in a wax covering. Literally wax. The instructions stated no need for soil or water. It bloomed mid May. The flowers are slowly starting to die off. Can I also expect to have this reflower if I take care of it properly? Should I take out of the wax and place in a pot? It is a very beautiful flower but does not seem to bloom for long. Then again, I do not have an abundance of sunlight hitting my living area. Please advise and thank you for your time.
Hi, Jamie,
Waxed bulbs are intended for single use. They have all they need to bloom, but after that, they are meant to be discarded. You can remove blooms on a stalk once they have faded. Also, if a flower stalk itself is fading, often one or two more will start to grow; if desired, you can cut off the fading flower stalk to encourage more growth. (Leave any leaves, though.)
Once flowering has completed, instead of discarding the bulb, you can try to gently remove the wax (avoid disturbing the brown outer layer of the bulb as best you can). Sometimes the bulb will have plastic wrap underneath the wax, and/or a wire base inserted into the bottom of the bulb; if so, then you want to carefully remove these also. Then, plant the bulb in a pot (not too large—about 1 to 2 inches wider than the bulb, and one with drainage holes) filled with potting soil and set in bright indirect light in a warm area; water sparingly. Make sure that the top 1/3 of the bulb sticks above the soil. Follow care instructions as you would for a regular bulb (as mentioned in the article above).
Hope this helps!
My amaryllis bloomed in May and is putting up a new stalk to bloom again. Definitely very pleased to see the new stalk so soon. My question is about the ball at the top of the first stalk that bloomed, what should I do with it?
Hi, Wynelle,
It sounds like the ball on top of the stalk is not a flower bud but a seed pod. If so, and you do not want to save seed, then you should remove the seed pod so that the bulb’s energy can go into growing more flowers and leaves. If the flower stalk itself is fading, then you can cut the stalk off about an inch above the base. If there are other flowers on the stalk still blooming, then you can remove the seed pod close to where it attaches to the stalk.
Hope this helps!
Hi! I am in the southern most part is South Carolina, zone 8B. I was recently, in March, gifted a amaryllis with 3 blooms. Not knowing any better I planted it in the ground. Should I replant it in a pot and if so when is the best time to do so? Thanks!
Hi Lynn,
In your area, you can certainly grow and keep your amaryllis outdoors year round. If you plan to leave it in the garden, you will want to give it some added protection for colder temperatures by adding a couple inches of mulch in the fall. If you want to bring it indoors for the winter, you will want to wait until the foliage dies back naturally toward the end of the growing season and then dig it up in fall before any threat of frost and plant in a container and bring indoors (see instructions and care tips above for container planting).
Hope this helps!
My Amaryllis plant produced a bulb stem but then died off before flowering. Why?
My plant has two multi stems and no sign of flowers. It was a Christmas gift. Can I still expect it to flower.