By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray
Did you know that your amaryllis can rebloom with little care or feeding? I had left a “spent” bulb on my basement workbench over the summer and was surprised that it had new growth a few weeks ago. I brought it upstairs to my plant shelf, and within a few weeks it was reblooming.
Amaryls are native to Africa and were brought to Europe in the 1700s. Some of these original bulbs bloomed for as long as 75 years, so having mine bloom a second year shouldn’t be a surprise. However, most of the bulbs we purchase now are native to Central and South America; they are a hybrid without that long a history.
Your first step for long-lasting flowers is to purchase a healthy bulb. Choose the largest bulb available for the specific variety, since the larger bulbs will produce more flowers. Make sure that the bulb is firm and dry; if it is “squishy” when you give it a gentle squeeze it most likely has mold, decay or some injury. You may see an offshoot growing from the base. If so, split it off and plant it separately.
When planting the bulb, choose a pot that’s no more than one inch wider than the bulb and about twice as tall. You’ll have plenty of room for root growth while still leaving the bulb a bit root bound. Make sure that the pot has good drainage so that your bulb does not rot. Fill the pot about halfway with sterile soil medium, bury the bulb roots if there are any, and gently pack the soil around the bulb, leaving about the top third of the bulb uncovered. Water it well and put it in a sunny location.
Keep watering the bulb when the top several inches of soil feel dry. You should also feed it with half strength plant food and leave it in full sun until buds appear. Once the buds appear, move it to indirect light and enjoy the beautiful flowers.
To get your bulb to rebloom, cut the flower off, leaving the stem until it turns yellow. This allows the green stalk to promote photosynthesis and store the energy in the bulb for a new bloom. Once the stem turns yellow, cut that off and either let the bulb go dormant (like mine in the basement) or keep feeding and watering it. You may not get a rebloom the first year if your bulb didn’t store enough energy to create new blooms, but it should bloom the next year.
Should you choose to let the bulb go dormant, leave the bulb in the dark for eight to 12 weeks and don’t water it. After the dormant period, move the pot to a sunny location and start to water and fertilize it. You will have a rebloom to enjoy in four to six weeks. Happy winter gardening.
Pat Dray is a past president of the Garden Club of Orange and a master gardener.