Amaryllis Al Fresco

Unusual, I don't see many white ones.

It's beautiful Wells! :o)

WOW!!! You put me to shame, Wells!!! Not even I can equal your display! The only white one I ever had disappeared many years ago!

I have had two plants flowering over Christmas but one has now finished & the other has only one flower left which will be gone in a week's time. :-((

As a consolation I discovered 5 plants this morning with buds just peeking out of the necks of the bulbs! :-))

As you might expect - I've added this photo to my favourites! :-))

Good, It is a beauty and it did come back last year. This particular one is new. I do need a little color though. It is all because of you that I have become interested in these dratted Amaryllis. Sometimes they bloom in the summer which I don't appreciate. i have a pal here who is also very keen on them. I gave her Al Fresco this year. Wow, is right.There are so many kinds, colors and heights. I am painter, and think maybe I will just have to be brave and take the brush. Be sure and post your budding flowers when they bloom. one last word, I had to use a large barbecue fork to hold it up.

I'm "plant sitting" for my neighbour at the moment. She asked me if I'd look after her Amaryllis for her in my Kitchen... It currently has four flower heads in full bloom with two more buds! And it has a second stem which is at least 3 or 4 inches tall!!! Have taken photographs of it's progress - must get to put them on here! It's such a shame she's not here to enjoy it!

Congratulations, Wells, on becoming an "Amaryllis-addict"! :-D) I'm so pleased for you!

When do you want your Amaryllis to flower, in the depths of winter? I prefer mine to flower when they are ready so I never do much to manipulate them, but it can be done!

You need to plan well ahead to get them to bloom at a certain period of the year. First you need to prepare the bulbs, much like is done with Daffodils & Hyacinths to fool them into thinking it the time of year when they should flower.

Like all bulbs Amaryllis need a few months of rest. They also need some cold during that time & NO water at all! As they take around 6-10 weeks to flower from scratch you need to set that date as the goal & then count backwards the required time.

You need to get some bulbs to hibernate first but if the weather is warm they will want to grow naturally so you need to keep them in a cold place till 6-10 weeks before you want them to flower.

To encourage a bulb to go into hibernation with hold ALL water from at the very least a month or more before hand. If the leaves haven't stated to die down cut them off a inch of so above the neck of the bulb & remove it from its pot. Leave to dry for a week or so & then put it in the darkest, coldest place you can find, alternatively put it in the fridge (but make sure the bulbs won't get frosted or you will lose them, also make sure they are never in the same place as apples as this apparently sterilises them & again you will get no flowers).

6-10 weeks before they are to flower pot them up & put them in a warm light place & water them. Then leave them without any more water till the leaves appear. Remember the bulbs will have no roots & can easily rot if kept too wet. They will happily grow & flower without any water at all till the leaves appear! The flower stems, or scapes, will probably need some support as the flowers are very top heavy.

Hope this will help you to get flowers at the time you want them. Let me know how you get on if you decide to do this. I'd be very interested.

Good for you, Petaltracey! Enjoy them while you can as they are quite fleeting. A scape will be over in a month!

Thanks for the info above balcony. I've got two bulbs in the conservatory which haven't shown any signs of flowering in a long time, but they are alive with green leaves... I'll carry out the instructions here and see if I can prompt them into flowering! ;o)

Don't worry about them - they will start to grow as soon as they are ready! I have bulbs in the same pot where one or two have buds but the others haven't so much as a leaf! Just dampen them a little, put them in a warm, sunny place & sit back & watch them grow!

Have a look at some of the Amaryllis photos I've put on my Photos page.