Re-Blooming Amaryllis

Apple Blossom Amaryllis bulbs starting to re-bloom late winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Re-Blooming Amaryllis

When you think of late winter flowers, maybe a tree is on our minds but how about these lovely flowers?

You see the bulbs that grow these flowers offered for sale around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Amaryllis are a popular flowering gift and one that people tend to toss after it flowers. I know because I happily adopt bulbs people don’t want any more over the years.

Amaryllis can re-bloom with a little care and patience, and they are well worth the effort.

Amaryllis are South American cousins to the North American Surprise lilies. Surprise lilies grow the green leaves first; the leaves die back and then the flower stalk shows up mid-July, blooming on naked stems. In Missouri, these lovely pink flowers are also called naked ladies.

The flowering “energy” is stored in the bulbs. To get Amaryllis to re-bloom, the idea is easy: they have to recharge their bulbs.

Surprise lilies, the North American cousins to Amaryllis. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

One of the big mistakes people make is planting the bulb too deep. Amaryllis bulbs need to have roots in soil but the bulb sitting on top. My bulbs have at most the bottom half in soil.

Amaryllis bulbs need to sit on soil with the roots buried. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The roots also need to get moisture. To make sure the roots are kept hydrated, I have a plastic bottle full of holes sitting in the middle of the large pot. This helps ensure the water gets evenly distributed through the soil.

Buried plastic bottles with holes keep soil hydrated. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once an Amaryllis finishes blooming, long leaves will grow out of the bulb. Keep those leaves well-watered and fertilize the bulbs until the leaves die back.

The leaves will turn sunlight into sugars which are stored in the large flower bulb.

Amaryllis bulb leaves will recharge bulbs. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once the leaves die, let the bulbs “rest’ for a couple of months without watering. I mark my kitchen calendar when the leaves have died back and periodically check to make sure it’s not too dry.

At this point, the bulbs can be stored in a cool place but no colder than 50F. I just leave them in their pots until I am ready to get them blooming again. Then I either repot or just start watering. When I see the tips of the flower buds coming out of the bulbs, I know the plant is re-blooming. I then move them to where I can enjoy the flowers.

Amaryllis will do best in indirect sun while they bloom.

Several re-blooming Apple Blossom Amaryllis bulbs. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The Amaryllis in the photo is an Apple Blossom. I have 8 Amaryllis bulbs in the pot, each bulb producing 4 flowers.

Here’s another view showing at least 12 Amaryllis flowers in bloom and more to come. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once the bulbs finish blooming, the pot will go outside to spend summer on my deck collecting energy into the bulbs through the leaves. I will also keep it fertilized with added compost.

When they come back inside late fall, leaves will still be growing. I will keep watering until the leaves turn yellow.

The leaves of this Apple Blossom Amaryllis bulb collection died back over Christmas. Once the leaves turned yellow, I cut back on watering for a couple of months to give the bulbs a rest.

Some years I dig out the top few inches of soil and give the bulbs new soil without disturbing their settled roots.

Amaryllis flowers make lovely cut flowers, too. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

If you can’t place the Amaryllis in a pot where you can enjoy it, Amaryllis flowers can be cut and enjoyed in a flower vase.

Amaryllis will make new bulbs and keep growing year to year if you give them the right growing conditions.

This is the same Apple Blossom Amaryllis bloom from the top now mature. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

These bulbs are so easy to grow. I love having mine but if you want to get rid of yours, you know where to find me!

Charlotte