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"Best Bulb Collection in Michigan"
AMARYLLIS
Amaryllis have such spectacular flowers that you can hardly take your eyes off them. At the same time they are so eager to grow that even if you forget them in a paper bag on the kitchen table they will sprout right there, unable to control their urge. When you receive your Amaryllis bulb in the fall, it has been through its dormant period. All it needs is to be potted up and watered. The good quality, top-sized Amaryllis bulbs we sell will produce at least two stalks, and each stalk will have four large flowers. Amaryllis are so easy to grow, they make even inexperienced gardeners feel successful. Prepare for intense beauty.
How to pot. Amaryllis like to be slightly root-bound, so choose a six or seven-inch pot with a drainage hole. Fill your pot about 2/3 full with dampened potting soil, then place the bulb in the pot. Since the large bulbs are themselves appealing to look at, add or subtract soil until about 1/3 of the bulb sits exposed above the rim of the pot. Fill in around the bulb with more potting soil. Then water, using tepid water to avoid shock, around the bulb, not on it. Amaryllis don’t like wet feet so wait to water again until the top inch of soil is dry. If you are unsure of when to water, err on the dry side or buy one of our inexpensive water meters that will take the guess work out.
How to grow. Amaryllis will usually begin to grow in two to four weeks at room temperature (sixty-five degrees or so). After the stalk first appears it takes four to six weeks until the flowers bloom. Once in a while a stubborn bulb will sit for weeks without sending up a stalk. In this case, put the bulb in the warmest place in your home, such as a furnace room or on top of the refrigerator. This will break the dormancy. After growth starts the bulb can be returned to normal room temperatures. Avoid hot air registers because they will dry bulbs too quickly. Remember that a sunny warm window in the daytime may be too cool at night to start growth. If you are trying to time your Amaryllis to bloom for a holiday and it seems as though the stalks are progressing too quickly, put the bulb in a cool place with a temperature as low as forty-five degrees to slow it down. Like all plants, Amaryllis need light and will get leggy reaching for it if they don't have enough. Bright light and cool temperatures are the optimum conditions for growing well-proportioned, long flowering Amaryllis. As your bulb leans toward the light be sure to turn it periodically so it doesn’t get top heavy on one side. If it does get top heavy and threatens to tip over we stock single-stem plant supports.
How to save and re-bloom. It’s easy to keep your Amaryllis alive and get it ready to bloom again next year. First, cut off the flower stalks as soon as the blooms fade. LEAVE THE FOLIAGE. Continue to care for your bulb as you have during the blooming period but now start to feed it with a houseplant fertilizer. When all danger of frost has passed move the bulb outside to a sunny or lightly dappled shady spot. You may either plant the Amaryllis pot and all in the ground (it will need less watering) or leave it above ground as a potted plant. From late May until late September continue to fertilize. This is when photosynthesis creates the food that is stored in the bulb to feed next year's growth. In September the foliage may still be growing and look verdant but this is the time to induce dormancy. Cut all the foliage off and put your bulb in a cool corner of the basement for sixty days. DO NOT WATER IT. While the minimum dormancy will be complete in sixty days you may leave your Amaryllis dormant for twice that long. After this dormant period your bulb will be in the same state it was when you purchased it. Repot if you wish and place it in a warm bright spot. Start watering and begin enjoying the whole cycle again. With this basic care, Amaryllis have been known to last for generations.
Amaryllis will grow beautifully in stones or marbles much the same as paperwhite narcissus but, if you try this method, the bulbs won’t re-bloom the following year. Simply follow the instruction for planting and growing Amaryllis in soil but substitute a pot or vase without drainage and substitute stones or marbles for soil. Only the Amaryllis root should be in the water. The water should never touch the bottom of the bulb.
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