Amaryllis Blooms Never Fail to Deliver

I received a surprise package a couple of months ago from Longfield Gardens and if you know me or have read this blog for awhile now, you know that what was in that package thrilled me to no end.

Because I am an amaryllis addict.

The package contained a very cool vintage-looking rectangular wooden box  with handles.  Inside the box was potting soil, decorative moss, and two gigantic amaryllis bulbs - two of the largest bulbs I've ever seen and I've seen some gigantic ones.  Both of them had offset bulblets that will one day be large enough to separated from the mother bulb.  When it comes to amaryllis bulbs, size matters - the bigger, the better.

I'd gotten a few amaryllis (Hippeastrum sp.) bulbs from Longfield Gardens late last fall and I shared the photos of 'Limona' on my Our Little Acre Facebook page.

Hippeastrum 'Limona'

That bulb first bloomed at the beginning of December, and went on to put out a second and yet a THIRD flower stalk, the latter still in bloom now, three months later.  It's the first time I've ever had an amaryllis bulb produce three flower stalks.  Like I said, size matters!

I potted the new bulbs up, gave them a shot of water, and put them on a shelf in the family room.  It wasn't long before I noticed that bulbs starting to put out flower stalks - two each from each bulb.  About six weeks after planting, I got the first bloom.

Hippeastrum 'Apple Blossom'

Eventually, each bulb threw up two flower stalks and two of those stalks had five flowers on each stalk - one more than the usual four.

Hippeastrum 'Apple Blossom'

The cultivar is 'Apple Blossom', which has white petals blushed with pink, and an apple green throat.

Hippeastrum 'Apple Blossom'

When these are finished blooming, the foliage will emerge (I can already see it starting).  I'll cut the spent flower stalks off at the base and allow the foliage to grow and do its thing.  I plan to keep these bulbs and plant them out in the garden for the summer, where they'll use that foliage to feed the bulb for flowering again next season. I'll dig them up and trim off the foliage just before frost in the fall and store them in my cool, dark basement for about two months before potting them up and starting the process all over again.

Amaryllis is the gift that just keeps on giving, and really, they couldn't be easier, whether you've got a green thumb or not.

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Thank you to Garden Media Group and Longfield Gardens LLC for arranging to have the amaryllis bulbs and the amaryllis kit sent to me free of charge.