Pot up Amaryllis bulbs now for spectacular indoor colour!

You’ll see these spectacular Amaryllis bulbs on sale in garden centres, florists and large high street stores right now. They are extremely easy to grow!

Although this is a popular cut flower with long vase life, you’ll get so much more pleasure by growing these yourselves. Invariably Amaryllis bulbs are sold as a complete kit. But sometimes the largest bulbs are sold loose on their own and frequently without any instructions!

What you’ll need

So what you’ll need is a pot, some potting compost and a large healthy bulb!

It’s important to not get the compost too wet in the early stages but frequently the compost provided in those complete kits is dust dry! So wet it well but then let it dry.

If you start off with very wet compost then bulbs are reluctant to produce a good root system. They will certainly need a strong root system with a huge flower head on top! So aim to get the compost wet enough so that it is just damp to the touch.

You’ll need a pot that is a little larger than the bulb. A 10-12 cm diameter pot is perfect. If you want to create a really spectacular display then how about planting 3 or more bulbs in a larger container?

Fill your container two thirds full. Place the bulb in the centre of the pot and fill the rest of the pot with more compost. Stop short of the lip of the pot by about 1 centimetre.  You’ll need this for watering later on.

If you’re planting several bulbs in a bigger container make certain the bulbs do not touch one another.

Whether multiple or single bulbs the top third of the bulb should stand proud of the compost.

No further water should be added until there is at least 3 cms. of new leaves growing out of the top of the bulb. The best place for your newly potted Amaryllis bulbs is on a bright warm windowsill. When the flower buds are well developed -but not yet open – you can bring your Amaryllis bulbs into the centre of a room and place it where it can’t be missed!

Availability of Amaryllis bulbs

I’m impressed by the range of different coloured and different shaped flowers that are now readily available. Taylor’s Bulbs have the best range that I’ve seen and this is a brand you’ll readily find in garden centres. I’m sure that online retailers will be a good source for these bulbs and the complete kit packs make excellent gifts too!

 

 

 

 

Hippeastrum not Amaryllis bulbs

Throughout I’ve referred to these magnificent bulbs as Amaryllis and I have a confession to make! They are widely called Amaryllis but are in fact Hippeastrum!

The true Amaryllis is a summer flowering bulb we can grow outside in our borders! It is a leafy hardy bulb that also produces spectacular trumpet shaped blooms. These are normally a strong shade of pink but occasionally they are pure white.

The true Amaryllis comes from South Africa but the originally Hippeastrum comes from South America.

I’ve seen true Hippeastrum growing in Brazil. Perhaps you would like to read about other Brazilian plants we grow as indoor plants I’ve seen here.

I’ve written about other familiar Brazilian plants that I’ve seen growing in the wild here.

 

Don’t miss another of my blogs!

Scroll right to the bottom of this page and sign up for an alert every time I publish!