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Amaryllis blooming for Christmas
Planting, Growing, and Caring for Amaryllis
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I received an amaryllis earlier this year, it never bloomed and now still has one green leaf stem. Should I wait for it to turn brown or can I cut it off now and put it to sleep for a couple months?
Hi Rita,
Since your amaryllis did not bloom that is a sign that it did not store enough energy to produce flowers. A green stem will continue to promote photosynthesis, which creates energy that is stored in the bulb for future leaf growth and flowers. Depending on when you want it to bloom, you will want to keep the plant healthy and growing by placing it in a sunny location. It should continue to grow long, smooth leaves, which will promote photosynthesis. You will also want to continue to water and fertilize the plant regularly. If you want it to bloom at a certain time, plan to place it in a cool, dry, and dark location for 8 to 10 weeks prior to that time. Cut off watering during that dormancy period and let the leaves brown before removing. Once new growth appears, remove your amaryllis and place it in a sunny window.
Christmas 2022 Two stalks with 3 or 4 huge flowers each. Gorgeous!!! Kept it in a sunny warm spot and the leaves looked so healthy and vibrant. It is now November, no yellow leaves, still lovely, healthy, and green. What am I supposed to do so that it blooms this Christmas?
Hello, Peggy—
Thanks for sharing your blooming success! After blossoming, the bulb needs to grow and store food for its next season. Once the blossoms have faded, cut off the flower stalk and keep leaves growing by placing in a warm sunny spot… seems like you are all set there. It takes a minimum of flour leaves to produce one flower stalk.
To allow it to grow and store food, we recommend bringing it in at the end of August and cutting off watering. It needs to dry out to induce a period of dormancy—pull off any dried leaves and store the pot in a dark place around 50 degrees, then we would recommend moving back to a sunny location and watering in mid-November, for a Christmas bloom.
We recommend putting your amaryllis to sleep now… and waking it up in mid-January to try for some Valentine’s Day blooms!
—The Editors
Moved to Southern Georgia (USA ) in January saw these growing near the patio. Are these a special variety and how do I care for them. Done blooming. Obviously perennials here. Beautiful .
What about bulbs that produce flowers but have no leaves. When the bloom is faded, cut just it off and leave the stem until it fades? Or cut the stem also. The stems are thick and green when the flower fades - is that a help to feed the bulb? I have three amaryllis' that have produced each a stems and flowers but have no leaves. And more with lots of leaves.....
Hi, Cathy,
Some types of amaryllis, such as Dutch types, tend to flower before the leaves emerge. After a flower fades, cut it off from the flowering stalk, but leave the green stalk which, as you surmised, helps to feed the bulb. Wait until the stalk browns/fades before removing it. Leaves should appear a bit later.
I was given so me of my Nanas amaryllis bulbs in dried soil in a pot, they had sat in a garage somewhere for a long time, but there are some still hard but cut back and very dry?? Anyway to save, Id love to try!!!
Why is the main stem growing skew or at a angle it is flowering great
Hi, Gary, Hard to tell exactly. It could be the weight of the flower heads causing the stem to lean, or it might be the placement in the pot (which you can not do anything about now; if you remove it from the pot now, you will disturb it and lose everything). It might be cramped in the pot or maybe it was potted haphazardly. If you decide to try to keep it for future blooms, you could repot it before the next flowering period. See details above about keeping an amaryllis.