Amaryllis for the Holidays: Guidance on Storage, Cultivation, and Additional Details
Growing and Caring for the Alfresco Amaryllis: A Guide
The Alfresco Amaryllis is a captivating plant that offers the opportunity to nurture it season after season, resulting in stunning blooms. This article provides some essential tips for growing and caring for this beautiful flower.
General Care
- The Alfresco Amaryllis prefers bright, indirect light and takes between four and seven weeks to bloom.
- Once the plant is in active growth, water it regularly and rotate the pot to encourage the stalk to grow straight.
- To ensure the return of amaryllis flowers season after season, water the plant sparingly until you see about two inches of new growth, then increase watering.
- When all flowers on a flower stalk have faded, cut the stem back to within a few inches of the bulb to prepare the bulb for storage.
Storage
- In late summer or early fall, stop watering your Amaryllis plant and move the potted bulb to a cool (ideally about 55 degrees Fahrenheit), dry location, away from bright light.
- In mid-August, begin withholding water and let the plant's foliage die back naturally as the pot entirely dries out.
- After the flowers have faded, carefully snip them off.
- Store the dormant bulb in a cool, dark, and dry place for a minimum of eight weeks, or longer if desired.
Repotting
- Repot the bulb in fresh potting soil after about six to eight weeks of storage, and place it in bright, indirect light.
- When repotting, ensure that 1⁄3 of the bulb remains above the soil.
Gift Idea
- The alfresco amaryllis bulb, accompanied by a bamboo planter, makes a thoughtful gift. The planter can be used for an indoor herb garden when the amaryllis is out of season.
Symbolism
The Amaryllis is a traditional symbol of determination, beauty, and love. Its history is rooted in Greek mythology, where the flower originated from the love of a maiden named Amaryllis for a shepherd named Alteo.
Varieties
There are over 600 varieties of the Amaryllis, but this article focuses primarily on the Alfresco Amaryllis.
Importance and Popularity
- The United States imports over 10 million Amaryllis bulbs annually, most of which come from Holland and South Africa.
- The Amaryllis' ability to bloom spectacularly indoors during winter months makes it popular in modern horticulture as a festive flower.
[1] https://www.britannica.com/plant/Amaryllis [2] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44574/amaryllis [3] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44575/narcissus [4] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44575/narcissus#footnote-1
The Alfresco Amaryllis can be a great addition to both your lifestyle and home-and-garden, given its captivating appearance and the opportunity for continued growth and blooming. With proper care in bright, indirect light, regular watering, and periodic repotting, an Alfresco Amaryllis can thrive and produce stunning flowers. Additionally, the dried bulb can serve as a home-and-garden project when you create an indoor herb garden in a bamboo planter during the Amaryllis' out-of-season period.
