I remember seeing this plant when I was just a teenager when I visited my cousins' house.
And I fell in love with it.
A leafless elegant long stem.
With flowers on top.
The most amazing flowers!
So when I saw this one - I had to have it!
White and red with peach cream undertones.
It really is a stunner.
What joy it brought to my kitchen...
As day by day, I watched the blooms open.
'Hippeastrums' are from the Amarilys family.
And there are many, many colours available.
The flower heads can be from 13 to 20cm in size.
They are funnel-shaped but do come in double forms.
To grow:
- Place in bright light with some sun for part of the day.
(I grew mine on my kitchen bench which has morning sun and bright light for the rest of the day).
- When actively growing/flowering, aim to keep the soil moist most of the time.
After Flowering:
- Cut the spent flower spikes to the base, but keep the leaves growing by watering when the bulb soil is dry.
- Place bulbs in the pots outside or in a greenhouse or covered patio during the hot summer months.
- Only fertilise every 2 weeks while leaves are growing.
- Keep in a 10 to 13-degree temperature will in its rest period after leaves die back.
- Do not water while dormant.
- Don't let bulb sit in water as this will cause the bulb to rot.
- Do not repot unless the potting medium has broken down, or the plant produces offsets.
- Baby offset bulbs take 2 to 3 years to flower.
- The plant nor bulb like frost or cold.
Here's a little advice from a grower who has had her 'Hippy' for 26 years!
My amaryllis bulb is about 26 years old and blooms twice every year without fail. I have it in an east-facing window, and I water it as and when I remember! I feed it with Gro-more twice a year as the main stalk starts to show (only adding to one watering each blossoming time). I honestly do not pamper this bulb, never take it out of the window (even in winter but central heating usually keeps the house at about 20 degrees), forget to water regularly (sometimes the leaves start to droop a little) and yet it still gives me 2 beautiful displays every year. The bulb has almost filled the pot for the last 6 years, so I took it from the pot 6 weeks ago, cut back the roots (there was very little soil left anymore) and put some new soil in. I thought I had killed it but it is proudly showing 4 deep red blooms on the stalk. I do strip off the dead 'skins' on the bulb when it gets very flaky - a gentle pull brings most of it off.
#hippeastrum #floweringpotplant
