My Christmas amaryllis are still beautiful, and I’ve got a couple more that are gett ing ready to bloom. Any tips on prolonging their bloom period, and also what do I do with them when they’re done blooming?
Large-flowering amaryllis, genus Hippeastrum, not to be confused with the Belladona lily (also known as amaryllis), is a sub-tropical lily that hails from our neighbors to the South— Mexico all the way down to Argentina, where they bloom in the wild in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer—that is to say, our winter. Transpose them to our climate, and they reliably bloom in our summer. To keep them on a native schedule so we get the benefit of the gorgeous color in our winter, breeders and growers up here in NorthAmerica mimic conditions of the other Americas and, lo, we get Christmas amaryllis. The larger the bulb, the larger and more prolific the bloom and bloom time. You can expect to pay $15-$40 for a fat, well-formed bulb that produces eye-popping color and shape—the rarer the variety, the more pricey the bulb. Cheaper, smaller bulbs, widely available during the fall in big-box stores, supermarkets, and school fundraisers, produce satisfactory, though considerably less spectacular, results.
Shelling out upward of $10 per bulb is motivation enough to prolong the bloom time and life of the plant. Keeping the plant in a cool spot for at least half its 24-hour day helps. Once it begins blooming, each night remove it to the coolest part of the house; then return it in the morning to where you want to see it all the time. Keep it watered, though not soaking, and do not feed it: all its nutrition is already in the bulb. Most large bulbs will produce at least two and sometimes three or four flower stalks, providing continuous bloom for two months or more. Cut off each stalk as the flowers droop and the stalk begins to yellow. Once the last stalk is done, keep the plant indoors and watered until spring—after the last frost, around early May. At that point, it can be repotted in a mixture of potting soil and compost. Treat it as you would any potgrown plant that you keep outside for the summer. It loves full sun but is happy in partial shade. Feed it monthly with an all-purpose fertilizer to encourage lavish foliage growth. The bulb itself will also get bigger.
Since it is not hardy, eventually it will have to be brought back indoors. I usually bring mine in around Thanksgiving. Stop feeding it and watering it. Slowly, the foliage will die back. Cut off the spent foliage. You can leave the bulb in the pot and place it in a cold, dark place (I put them in our unheated basement). You can remove the bulb from the soil and place it in a paper bag in the crisper of your refrigerator. Leave the bulb thus for several weeks, until you see it begin to sprout again. This could take up to three months. See where we’re going with this? The Southern Hemisphere native is changing its growthpattern to match our Northern Hemisphere climate—the amaryllis, in ensuing years after the first bloom inside your home, will slowly but surely shiftto become a spring- and summer- blooming lily.
The fall colors this year got me thinking that I’d like more leaf color in my garden, not just in the fall but yearround. Can you recommend varieties of small trees and shrubs that will provide different leaf colors and also give me a particularly good display in the fall? I’m really taken with those redred bushes called “burning bush.”
Ah, yes, “burning bush,” Latin name Euonymus alatus, also commonly called “winged Euonymus.” It’s an Asian import that’s been grown in North America for 150 years, prized for its glorious fall color, the most crimson of crimsons, unlike any other color in nature. It reaches 10 feet in height, though there are dwarf cultivars. It’s a fine shrub but today is making a pest of itself by reseeding through our native woodlands—on the hit list of many landscape architects and naturalists as an invasive species.
As for other leaf color, there is a book that I highly recommend called “The Hillier Guide to Trees & Shrubs.” If you can’t find it at your library, shame on them. The list of marvelous plants that offer colorful leaves is long. You need to take under consideration your soil and exposure, as well as sunlight and what you want under and around what you plant. A few terrific native species known for fall color include catalpa, birch, maples, witch hazel, cotoneaster, ironwood, sourwood, and native dogwoods. You almost can’t go wrong if you stick with native plants and mimic nature. Get to know what they are, read up on variations, and visit nurseries at different times of the year so you see what plants look like throughout the seasons.
About the Author
Adrienne Cook wrote a weekly garden column for 25 years for The Washington Post. She never quit gardening and is now back to writing about gardens from her Fauquier County home. Send questions to: Adrienne@piedmontvirginian.com.
