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From a huge, brown bulb to a tall, stunning flower – it's a magical process that might seem a little intimidating if you've never tried it. Amaryllis bulbs are easy to grow. With these top ten planting tips, you’ll have glorious blooms to chase away the most stubborn winter blahs!
A young friend of mine helped me plant a lot of bulbs one fall, and as a holiday gift I gave her an amaryllis bulb “as big as her head.”She potted it up and was so excited as it grew... and grew... and grew! Watching the buds and blooms unfold from the tall stalk of an amaryllis plant is enchanting, no matter how many times you've seen it.
Although many of us know them as amaryllis, if you're looking for them in PlantFiles or in online bulb catalogs, you'll need to know their botanically correct name of Hippeastrum.
These top ten planting tips will ensure that your amaryllis bulb produces the glorious blooms you're anticipating.
1. Choosing a bulb. A healthy amaryllis bulb should feel like a good onion: firm, heavy, and dry to the touch. Avoid bulbs with squashy areas that would need to be cut away. Big blotches of red “rust” can be a sign of fungal disease or mite infestation.
2. Storing the bulb. If you bought your bulb more than 6 to 8 weeks before you'd like to enjoy its blooms, you may not want to pot it up right away. The bulb can be kept dormant by storing it in a cool, dry, dark place. Don't put it in the refrigerator. If it starts to sprout, don't worry. It will be fine as long as you pot it up within the next month or two. 3. Choosing a pot. A drainage hole is essential.A heavy pot with a low, squat shape will be less likely to tip over. An amaryllis in bloom gets top-heavy! The diameter of the pot should be 3 or 4 inches larger than the diameter of the bulb, leaving just an inch or two of space around the bulb when it's centered in the pot.You can also fit three bulbs into a larger pot for a nice show of blooms.
4. Preparing potting mix. Any good, well draining soilless mix will work for an amaryllis. I add a pinch of polymer moisture crystals and a pinch of slow-release fertilizer pellets, as I would for any houseplant. Moisten the mix with enough water to barely dampen it. 5. Planting the bulb. Fill the pot halfway with slightly moist potting mix. Nestle the bulb into the center of the pot and continue filling in around it until the bulb is 2/3 covered. Gently firm the potting mix down around the bulb. The top 1/2 to 1/3 of the bulb should be visible above the surface of the potting mix.
6. Dressing the surface (optional). Some people like to hide the soil surface and the top of the bulb with a layer of dry spanish moss or sphagnum moss. I've started using a layer of decorative gravel. The extra weight of the stones really helps hold both bulb and pot in place as the bloom stalk grows taller.
7. Watering the bulb. Water very sparingly around the new bulb. Try to keep the upper part of the bulb itself dry. It will not need much water until it sprouts and grows roots and really starts to grow. A bulb in a box on the shelf at the store will sprout all on its own, with no water at all! While you naturally want to pamper your amaryllis, it's all too easy to kill it with kindness. Generous watering just rots the bulb. 8. Caring for the plant. Once the bulb grows roots and starts sprouting a flower stalk and/or leaves, care for it as you would any houseplant. Amaryllis plants like bright light and lightly moist soil. Warmer temperatures make them grow and bloom more quickly. Cooler temperatures slow them down a little.
9. Turning the pot. This is very important if you don't want your amaryllis to grow toward the window until it leans so far sideways that its pot falls right off the table. The tip of the bloom stalk will always grow toward the light. Give the pot a quarter turn once or twice a day, turning it so the tip of the stalk (if it's leaning at all) points away from the window.
10. Supporting the bloom. Most amaryllises bloom on very tall stalks that usually need some support. I've used everything from chopsticks and twist-ties to bamboo garden stakes and twine. The blooms themselves will last longer at cooler temperatures (60-65'F) out of direct sunlight, but they generally put on a good, long show regardless.
11. Throwing it away. No! Don't! Too many people toss out their amaryllis plants after their holiday blooms have faded. Continue treating them like any houseplant, and enjoy their foliage. In the next "Amaryllis 101" article, we'll discuss how to grow them on until next year for more, bigger, better blooms!
An amaryllis bulb takes 6 to 8 weeks to sprout and bloom. But half the fun of these stunning flowers is in the building anticipation as you watch them grow.They’re worth the wait! So when you see those brilliant photos posted over bins of enormous brown bulbs, don't just pass them by. Amaryllis bulbs are fun and easy to grow, step by step.
I hope you'll pot up at least one amaryllis bulb this year, for glorious winter color and blooms “as big as your head!”
Better known as "Critter" on DG, Jill gardens in Frederick, MD. This week, I've been cutting lavender, putting up pluots (plum-apricot fruits), and pulling weeds (always, LOL). I love being outside in the cooler morning -- coffee cup in one hand, watering hose in the other -- watching the birds and butterflies among the flowers.(Images in my articles are from my photos, unless otherwise credited.)
Posted by birder17 (from Jackson, MO) on December 30, 2007 at 2:54 PM:
This is the way I use the copper coil. This is the only way I knew how to post this picture. Sorry, I had to start a new thread.
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 30, 2007 at 2:57 PM:
That photo explains it perfectly! Thanks!
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Posted by birder17 (from Jackson, MO) on December 30, 2007 at 2:57 PM:
I also use grass seed around the bulbs to give the bulbs a "skirt", or, I use sphagum moss. Both the grass and the moss help to keep the water from splashing out.
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Subject: Staking amaryllis
Posted by birder17 (from Jackson, MO) on December 18, 2007 at 12:09 AM:
I have been growing amaryllis bulbs for years. I plant them in the garden in the summer and bring them in late Oct or early Nov. I use a coil of copper tubing to stake the amaryllis. When I pant the bulbs, I put the copper coil, (usually around three bulbs of the same ) (I buy them at Lowe's) around the outside of the pot. As the stalk grows, the coil is lifted to form a spiral. It looks very nice.
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 18, 2007 at 11:44 AM:
That's really clever! And I'll bet it looks a whole lot more attractive than my chopstick and twine contraptions... :-)
Thanks for sharing that great tip!
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Posted by birder17 (from Jackson, MO) on December 20, 2007 at 10:44 PM:
i bought some new amaryllis this year from Wayside Gardens. Buy one get one. I bought one named Hercules. It's a ruby pink. It is suppose to have very strong stems that will not need staking. I'll let you know! I bought four different kinds of Amaryllis---I can only find the same kinds here locally. Red Lion, Minerva, Apple Blossom. I like them but want to diversify. I plant all my A. at one time and keep them in a cool, dry, place (downstairs garage). I bring up a few at a time and I have blooms for months. Really right into Spring when the bulbs outside are blooming. It helps keep the winter duldrums away for me.
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Posted by 4paws (from Hoopa, CA) on December 28, 2007 at 11:10 PM:
birder, do you have a photo of your copper spiral trellis? (Critter, chopsticks go a long way in my house, too!)
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Posted by birder17 (from Jackson, MO) on December 30, 2007 at 10:29 AM:
Not right now, but I will get a picture soon--maybe today.
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Subject: I can hardly wait!
Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on December 11, 2007 at 3:28 PM:
Great article! I can hardly wait for part 2, as I'd like to be able to keep and regrow these beauties.
Thanks for all the great information!
Cathy
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Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on December 11, 2007 at 8:16 PM:
Nice job, Jill. Never tried one yet.
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Posted by planolinda (from Plano, TX) on December 13, 2007 at 8:49 PM:
mine are planted outdoors and look so healthy but haven't bloomed--i moved one inside for winter --are outdoor ones different? this one was called "voo doo"
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 13, 2007 at 10:37 PM:
I admit I'm not sure what the season is for amaryllis blooms in areas where they can be grown outside. I'm guessing you could find the answer in the amaryllis forum...
I've seen photos of 'Voo Doo' -- it's a beauty!
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Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on December 17, 2007 at 6:20 PM:
Thanks Jill! Another great article! My hippies are all outside, and I have traded some here on DG for other colors. This is such a glorious flower, maybe your article will help some of them jump off the shelves and into the homes of flower lovers across the country.
Thanks again!
Happy Holidays!
Shari
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Subject: I'm convinced!
Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on December 11, 2007 at 12:03 PM:
Critter, I've never grown amaryllis, but I'm going to get one today. Thanks for the encouragement. One question, do they have a scent? C4
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on December 11, 2007 at 2:40 PM:
My Mom gave one once, and told me to throw it away. Last year, after I found DG, I spent a lot of money on many different types of amaryllis bulbs. We had a lovely winter - early spring. They all summered outside and in the fall I trimmed their foliage. Now I'm looking for POTTING SOIL, and suitable pots! Thank you for helping me feel I was on the right track. xxx, Carrie
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Posted by AYankeeCat (from Fairfield County, CT) on December 11, 2007 at 4:50 PM:
Thank you for reminding me about amaryllis. One of my BIL's just had a stroke and I didn't know what I could do to cheer him up. After reading your article I ordered an amaryllis for him and included a note that I know that he will be able to take care of the bulb and watch it bloom for years to come.
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 11, 2007 at 6:05 PM:
They really are beautiful and maybe if I try again, this one won't be killed by me :)
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 11, 2007 at 9:13 PM:
Thanks! I'm glad to hear I've encouraged some folks to give these lovely flowers a try. They look so huge and exotic that it's easy to assume they're tricky to grow, but that's just not so. :-)
Cathy, you should ask around the Amaryllis forum. It seems to me I've seen descriptions of one or two varieties that were supposed to be scented, but I've never heard that any were as strongly scented as, say, paperwhites.
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Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on December 11, 2007 at 10:02 PM:
Thanks critter, that is exactly my concern, paperwhites and I don't co-exist well in the same house.
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Posted by Grow_Jo (from Calgary, AB) on December 11, 2007 at 10:09 PM:
Jill,
Great article! I'm trying a couple myself for the first time this year, so was excited to read your article and see that I haven't screwed up (yet). LOL!
Joanne
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Posted by sallyg (from Anne Arundel Co., MD) on December 12, 2007 at 6:03 PM:
So informative and super job with the pictures. Bravo!
Although many of us know them as amaryllis, if you're looking for them in PlantFiles or in online bulb catalogs, you'll need to know their botanically correct name of 
