Fantastic Christmas Amaryllis

After the foliage has died back, store the bulb dry at temperatures slightly cooler than room temperatures, and check weekly. Keep away from cut flowers or fresh fruit as the ethylene released during the ripening process can sterilize the flowers which are already formed inside the bulb.

When new leaves or a flower scape shows at the nose of the bulb, it should be brought out of storage, re-potted and watered, or placed at the cooler storage temperature indicated above to suspend further growth. Allow at least 6 weeks dry storage after the leaves have died back to program flowers, unless new growth is noted sooner.

Once you are ready for flowers, remove the bulb from storage, and re-pot it. At this time, you can remove any dead roots, but round white roots should be left intact. The amaryllis should flower in 4-6 weeks (bulbs with flower scapes already showing at the nose will flower faster).

Growing On
During flowering, keep the bulb in indirect light to prolong flowering. The scapes can be cut back after the flowers wither. This is best done over a sink as the scape is full of glucose water which may stain furniture. Let the leaves remain on the plant, do not cut them back.

After flowering, the plant should be kept growing actively. The next couple of months are the most important for following years bloom. The plant should be given regular water and fertilizing.

The amaryllis is a fairly heavy feeder. Continue to apply full strength houseplant fertilizer, or at regular intevals apply a 3 month slow release coated fertilizer (Osmocote, Multicote, etc). Also, at this point in time, give the plant as much sun as possible (in the south, afternoon shade is recommended). The strong sunlight combined with fertilizer will build up energy in the bulb for the future. The width of the bulb (size) is directly related to the amount of stored energy. The goal is to improve the size of the bulb.

I have found that planting the amaryllis outdoors in the planting bed or containers can help improve the quality of the bulb significantly. Plant in well draining, moisture retaining soil and provide enough water and fertilizer to keep it actively growing. The nose of the bulb should be out of the soil but plant it somewhat deeper than in the pot. A deep,

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