Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: 2023 bulb of the year – Amaryllis
Each year the National Garden Bureau selects a bulb, annual, vegetable, perennial, shrub and houseplant of the year. For 2023 they’ve selected the Amaryllis as bulb of the Year. The focus is on the Hippeastrum plants.
Amaryllis is a bulb native to South Africa. I talked about amaryllis a couple of weeks ago and shared some new offerings, check out them out here.
Today I’m sharing some of the most popular amaryllis and what to do AFTER they finish blooming. Unless of course, you purchase an amaryllis in wax. They are one and done as you don’t plant them or water them either.
Two favorite bulbs are Gervase and Picotee. Gervase blooms have variable coloration from flower to flower of white with pale pink, dark pink, red striped, and feathering.
Picotee are elegant crisp white flowers with just a hint of a red edge around each petal.
After bloom care:
- Leave it where it gets as much light as possible, watering when necessary. This will help it store enough starches and sugars in the bulb to rebloom the following year.
- When the temps warm up you can move it outside to continue to work on creating next year’s flower.
- Bring the pot back inside on September 1st; put it in a dark, cool place (closet; under the bed, etc) so it can take a ‘nap’ for a couple of months.
- November 1st, repot your ‘Amaryllis’, water it, and give it light so you can enjoy it again.
