Reblooming Amaryllis
So, how do you get reblooming amaryllis?
1)Feed it.
2)Put it in a pot that is sized “just right” – not too big and not too small.
3)Keep the soil moist, never soggy.
4)Give it lots of light.
5)Give it a rest for two to three months in the early fall.
And now the details:
Starting one month after planting, you should start feeding your bulb. Use a regular houseplant food (one with equal numbers) twice a month while
the leaves are green.
The flower stem will shoot up and after the bloom is finished, cut off the stem as close to the bulb as you can.
The strap-like leaves should be grown in a bright light. Keep the bulb fed twice a month and damp but not soggy soil.
After all danger of frost, put the bulb (still in its pot) outside. Sink the pot into the soil for ease of handling or you can grow it as a container plant. I note that those big leaves
tend to blow over quite easily so sinking the pot is far less work.
Bring the pot indoors in early September before the first frost.
Stop watering the bulb. When the soil is dry, put the pot (bulb and all) in a cool, dry spot for ten to twelve weeks. The bulb wants to be
around 55 to 60 F. This cool temperature is critical to get the bulb to flower again.
Don't store in refrigerator
Do not store the bulbs in the refrigerator if you store fruit there as well. Ethylene gas is given off by fruit and this can damage flower
development.
Repot using fresh soil. The bulb should be planted so the “shoulders” of the bulb are exposed (about the top one-third of the bulb). Use a pot
that is slightly larger than the bulb itself. A six-inch pot will generally do one bulb just fine. I have planted three bulbs together
in a single pot and that was a marvelous show.
Bring the newly potted up bulb into the heat of the house and into a bright sunny windowsill.
Water thoroughly to get the bulb “woken up”. But then immediately go to the “moist but not soggy” watering regime.
If all has gone well, you should see reblooming amaryllis again in 8 weeks (give or take a few).
Click here to ask about reblooming amaryllis.
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