Amaryllis – Hippeastrum hybrids
The first Christmas I was here, I tossed my amaryllis bulbs after they had bloomed. Then I was at a plant sale that spring and saw amaryllis for sale. I purchased a St. Joseph’s which bloomed in early March. And I saved all my holiday amaryllis bulbs and planted them after they finished blooming the following Christmas. This year they all bloomed in January and continued to bloom through March. I added this year’s bulbs to the bed and I expect in time this will become a very large bed of amaryllis.
Amaryllis are part of the Narcissus family of flowers. The name amaryllis means to twinkle or sparkle. Though they look like lilies, lilies have their ovaries above the petals and narcissus have them below the petals. In their native climates they die back in the heat of summer and re-appear in the fall. Mine had leaves all year last year, but it did not grow at all in the summer.
The Greeks and Egyptians associated narcissus flowers with death and they can be found in ancient burial tombs. In the 1650s a ship is believed to have wrecked off the coast of the Channel Islands. Amaryllis bulbs, native to South Africa, washed ashore and bloomed on the beach the following spring.
Amaryllis want sandy, well drained soils or the bulbs may rot during wet winters. Mine are planted in clay, that’s all I have and they have wintered over just fine. If you have them in clay, find a dry spot for them. Plant them so the top of the bulb is level with the top of the soil.
I tried planting them in the shade and while they lived through it, it was just barely and they didn’t bloom. Plant them in full sun to part shade, the more sun the better.
The wonderful thing about bulbs is that they require very little care. Put them in the ground and leave them be.
You can plant your holiday amaryllis bulbs as soon as they are done blooming. Or just keep them watered in a sunny window until we have a day warm enough to go out into the garden.
Typically amaryllis will send up blooms, then leaves appear after the flowers and it all fades away when the weather gets cold. These ones have leaves now because they bloomed first inside before I put them outdoors.
More information:
US National Arboretum Amaryllis Photo Gallery
Amaryllis/Hippeastrum Forum at the Garden Web
6 Responses to 'Amaryllis – Hippeastrum hybrids'
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hello Herself,
It was a lot of work to get amaryllis to rebloom in the north where they had to grow in pots and come inside for the winter. So it almost seems like cheating to just stick them in the ground here in Austin!
I envy you that St Joseph’s day lily!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Austinannie
14 Apr 08 at 1:30 pm
I know. I used to grow them in pots for Christmas, haul them in and stick them in the basement in the fall, then rebloom them. It’s much nicer this way.
ljmacphee
14 Apr 08 at 1:46 pm
These don’t mind the heat. They are spreading and putting out new leaves. I’m hoping for an impressive show next spring.
ljmacphee
25 Aug 08 at 1:35 pm
These are blooming now, they get a little bigger each year and spread a little.
This makes a nice replacement for the tulips that won’t grow here and the squirrels don’t dig them up like they do the tulips back home.
ljmacphee
26 Mar 09 at 8:53 pm
These are growing and multiplying – it should be a gorgeous show come January.
timestocome
9 Sep 09 at 6:07 pm
These all died back to the ground after our three day frost, no blooms this year. Too soon to tell if the plants themselves will make it.
timestocome
21 Jan 10 at 11:28 am