Amaryllis Project

Location: Northern Colorado

July 25, 2008

My Amaryllis is still alive and well. It bloomed earlier this year.

May 17, 2007

Looks like one of the leaves got burned by the sun today. I better not give it too much direct sunlight.

May 15, 2007

I went to a garage sale this morning, and I found an amaryllis for sale. It had four big leaves on it, and one of them was kind of bent. It had already bloomed, and the stock had been cut off. One of my friends had bloomed an amaryllis the year before, and it was pretty cool, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I found these sites:

Since my amaryllis was already planted, I ignored all the pre-planting instructions. From what I gathered from the sites, my plant (in its current stage of growth) needs:

  1. Lots of sunlight. You can even plant it outside in the summer.
  2. Water, when the soil is dry to the touch
To understand the growth cycle of the plant, you should look at it's native habitat.
"The key to rebloom is found in the plant's native habitat. The amaryllis is a native of the tropics, a region receiving nine months of rainy weather and three months of dry weather. The plant grows lush leaves throughout the rainy season, but when the dry season approaches the plant enters a rest period or dormancy in which the leaves die down and the plant remains inactive. When the rainy season begins again, the plant produces a rapid flush of growth accompanied by a flower stalk. Therefore, the blooming time of the amaryllis is regulated by the moisture of the environment. After blooming in its native habitat, the plant continues to grow throughout the remainder of the moist season. During this period the plant is storing up energy and forming flower buds in the underground bulb for next year's bloom."
So right now, my plant is in the "moist season" storing up energy for the next bloom.