Amaryllis Part 1 - Growing an amaryllis bulb

Amaryllis bulbs are often seen and sold around Christmas. The unfortunate thing about receiving a Christmas amaryllis is that they take 7-10 weeks to sprout and bloom, so folks expecting a Christmas blossom will not get one. But amaryllis are rewarding to grow if you have patience.

Growing an amaryllis is quite straight forward if you keep in mind that your bulb, like all bulbs, is a dormant storehouse of food and takes some time to grow and bloom. Follow these steps to plant your bulb:

 

Preparation

Picking a pot is important. The bulb doesn’t expand outward much but the roots will go deep. Grow the bulb in a pot that is slightly larger than the bulb – maybe 1” larger on all sides. Unless you have a miniature variety, amaryllis get tall – up to 18” or more, and the flower stalk is heavy. So a heavy, deep pot will be useful to balance the weight of the flower.

• Put the bulb in a shallow bowl, wide end down. The roots will emerge from the wide end and the flower and leaves from the narrower top.

• Fill the bowl about ½ way up the bulb with lukewarm water. Don’t submerge the bulb. You just want to rehydrate the root end and “wake up” the cells that will form new roots.

• Let the bulb soak for a few hours. 

• Pot the damp bulb in a nutrient-rich potting soil, leaving about 1/3 of the top of the bulb exposed.

• Water the soil thoroughly at the start. After that, only water when the top 1” of soil is dry. The bulb will easily rot if it is overwatered at this stage. It is forming roots and not using much water. 

In several weeks the bulb will send up a bud and leaves. It will start using more water at that point, so water more frequently. The flower stem will often appear before any leaves. It is thick and sturdy and grows very rapidly, which I always find fun to observe. 

Amaryllis bloom image from Wikimedia.

Starting when the bud is well-developed, keep the soil moist throughout the flowering. At this point, you can use a balanced, water soluble (think blue) fertilizer in a slightly dilute concentration, maybe half-strength, when you water.

Placement and Staking

• Put the newly planted bulb in a place where it will get bright light, preferably direct sun, but not on a window sill. Amaryllis like warm temperatures day and night (always above 60° but warmer is better). Find a spot near a window but away from the cold. 
• When the bud stem is a couple of inches tall, it is important to rotate the pot every couple of days to keep it from growing towards the sun. This encourages upright growth and keeps the flower stalk from leaning. 
• The flowering stem may need to be staked and supported. Bamboo stakes are commonly used, but find something long enough to go deep into the pot and up most of the length of the stem. Push it into the soil between the bulb and the pot and secure the stem to the stake a couple of inches below the flower. I suggest using twine instead of a wire, which can easily damage the stem if it is too tight. 
• If you are lucky you may get 2 flowering stems. Remove the faded flowers one by one as they wilt.

Stay tuned for more information on troubleshooting your amaryllis and taking care of it after it blooms.