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More Amaryllis to end the year!

balcony

By balcony

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More Amaryllis to end the year!

Got to maintain my reputation after all! Wouldn’t do to sleep on my laurels, would it? So I’ll end the present year chronological with a few photos of some of my Amaryllis that are flowering at the present time.

Back in October, when I was preparing to bring home my Amaryllis from the greenhouse on Gerry’s allotment, I was pleasantly surprised to find one pot had a scape that was quite advanced!

Of course I brought it home right away & kept it in the kitchen till the flowers showed signs of opening. This bulb turned out to be one of the two Anglo-American Amaryllis that didn’t flower at the same time as the others, back in the spring. (What’s happened to the other I’ve no idea!)

The Anglo-American Amaryllis flowered for the first time this year after I sowed their seeds 4 years ago. The seeds came from a cross between one of my plants & the pollen sent to me by a lady in the USA from some of her plants.I fertilized several plants with the pollen but only one plant produced viable seeds which I sowed as soon as they were ripe. I kept 20 plants & grew them on to flowering. It was with a great deal of anticipation that I waited for the buds I saw forming at the end of the winter last year to open for the very first time ever!

While I like them all only a couple are really any different from my older hybrids. Though to be fair the very first one to open was also the one that most differed to my older hybrids from previous years.

Eight Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid plants on living room table on 1st February 2016:

Nine plants on living room table on the last day of the month:

There are some of both types of Amaryllis in this photo. None of the pure red ones are Anglo-American hybrids.

So in November I was very pleased to see this particular Anglo-American hybrid open its very first flowers – for the very first time ever – 6 months late!

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid now opening 1st November 2016:

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid flowering in kitchen (Close up) 10th November 2016:

Even more surprising is that before the scape opened I discovered a 2nd bud, way down below in the neck of the bulb. I can’t remember any of the other 18 plants having had 2 scapes when they flowered for the first time ever during the spring this year.

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid with 2nd bud in neck of bulb (Close up on 3rd November 2016:

Another surprising thing about this particular Amaryllis is that the 2nd bud has produced the tallest scape I can ever recall seeing in all my years of growing Amaryllis (Which started back on Christmas Day 1982 when I was given my first ever Amaryllis bulb which flowered exactly 2 months after planting!) The 1st scape was about normal height or perhaps a little short but this one is twice the height! (72cm/28.5in) The flowers measure 21cm/8.5in across!

Although the first scape has now finished below, in the neck of the bulb you can see the next bud that is growing out of the neck of the bulb, well that’s the scape that has reached unprecedented heights for me & is flowering at the present moment. One month on!

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid bud just opening on living room table on 13th December 2016:

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid on living room table on 15th December 2016:

Before I finish I want to add some photos of the pure red Amaryllis hybrid which is flowering at the same time at this Anglo-American hybrid. The Anglo-American ones did not produce any pure reds that I can recall.

Amaryllis hybrid Pure red:

I discovered this one as a well advanced bud, too! Only this one was at home, amongst the bulbs I was preparing for hibernation.

I immediately potted it up in a yellow plastic pot so that I would be able to distinguish it from the other one:

It also flowered about a month after potting up! It has been on the living room table for the last few weeks & therefore it appears in some of the photos alongside the Anglo-American one.

It is almost finished flowering now but – lo & behold – a few days ago I discovered that it also had a 2nd bud! The thing is I hadn’t even noticed it even though I take photos of the plants every day! It was already several cm/in high when I discovered it!

Amaryllis hybrid (Pure red) with 2nd scape in kitchen:

This new scape is almost the same hight as the scape that is finishing & is growing much quicker than the one on the other plant grew! That one took a month from peeking out of the bulb but this one is only taking about 2 weeks!

Amaryllis hybrid (Pure red)in kitchen:

Amaryllis hybrid (Pure red) with buds about to open in kitchen on 26th December 2016:

Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid flowering in kitchen on the very last day of 2016:

Amaryllis hybrid (Pure red) flowering in kitchen on the last day of the year:

Amaryllis hybrids flowering in kitchen on the last day of the old year:

Amaryllis hybrid flowering in kitchen on New Year’s Eve:

If any of you are wondering why I use different names for for the 2 Amaryllis that is because the Amaryllis hybrid (Pure red) comes from my first sowing of Amaryllis seeds that flowered for the first time the year I joined GoY.

The Amaryllis Anglo-American hybrid on the other hand comes from the seed I sowed 4 years ago. I explained a bit above but some might wonder still.

More blog posts by balcony

Previous post: Preparations for overwintering Begonias

Next post: African Violets from leaf cuttings



Comments

 

they are very pretty Balcony. Some of mine have thrown up 2 sets of flowers this year too. perhaps what happened to them last year is the reason.

31 Dec, 2016

 

Fabulous. Thank you for sharing them with us all.

1 Jan, 2017

bjs
Bjs
 

That is some collection.is there room for you to live in the house as well.lol

1 Jan, 2017

 

Balcony those bulbs are amazing - well done - wishing you and your a happy new year - Jane

1 Jan, 2017

 

Hi Balcony...
you work very hard on your plants with amazing results.
Happy gardening to you in 2017 !

1 Jan, 2017

 

It's wonderful to have so many that you've grown yourself. You keep good records of them too.

2 Jan, 2017

 

Thanks for your lovely comments & your wishes for this coming year! :-))

I'd also like to wish you, & all who post or visit GoY, a wonderful year ahead in your gardens & with your families & friends. Happy New Year to all on GoY! :-))

Yes, Sbg, what happens to them the year before determines the results the following season! That's why it is so important to look after them well! The same goes for any bulbs, corms, rhizomes, or tubers. They store up energy in their organs to use the following year. If they are well fed & we meet all their conditions they will always reward us with a great display the following season.

Glad you liked them, Diane! They are as easy to grow & get to flower the following year as a Daffodil (minus the freezing conditions of course! LOL! :-)) )

Brian, we just about manage to squeeze ourselves in! LOL! :-D)

Thank you, Jane! I'm just very happy to share my plants with anyone who takes a moment to look at them! :-))

Thank you also for your kind wishes for the year that is just getting under way! :-)) I, too, wish you & your family the very best during this coming year. I look forward to reading your blogs & to seeing your photos as well!

Hi TT. Hope you had a great Christmas with your faithful team of gardeners! LOL! I thank you for your wonderful comment as well & I'm very happy that you like to see my plants!

I wish you a MUCH happier year in your garden & with your wonderful helpers who make us smile a lot as well as they make you smile. Happy gardening during 2017. I look forward to seeing your blogs & the "antics" of your lovely helpers!

Thanks, Hywel.

2 Jan, 2017

 

I think the interesting part of Brian's blogs is the kitchen table. He keeps them in draught free conditions
in a good light. I have moved plants around my flat this winter. When they are in their right place they start growing. The window sill is alright for some plants, and bulbs. My Peace Lily drooped with misery on the north facing window sill, so I moved it below onto the draining board.
It immediately sent up new shoots, as if to say " This is
right. I am happy here ".

3 Jan, 2017

 

Balcony, I have been given one in a box this week which I have planted and I have one from last year that I lay on its side to dry over the summer and have now replanted. The bulbs look good........no sign of leaves. Is it too late?

3 Jan, 2017

 

Actually the new one is showing a tip, fingers crossed.

3 Jan, 2017

 

Lovely plants! We have ours upstairs in one of the bedrooms and are a bit of a bone of contention. Like orchids they seem to spend a long time doing nothing! Then, of course, they win everyone over with a show of colour.

Signs of life in ours now at long last so they can be brought downstairs.

3 Jan, 2017

 

Linda some of mine don't flower until May and 2 have not lost last years leaves yet as I continued to water and feed them through the summer/autumn.
It is not too late for them so don't worry, they will still do ok. but give them a good feed once leaves develop.

3 Jan, 2017

 

Thanks Seaburngirl. I have had a flower on the first one and that encouraged me to keep it going. The bulb is green but no leaf yet. The new one has a leaf appear in less than a week of me planting it. I can wait.

3 Jan, 2017

 

Wonderfull Balcony!

Happy 2017, God bless you and family!

4 Jan, 2017

 

It's good to hear you have a new bulb, Linda! Don't worry about the leaves they will come out in their due time! I've been growing them & getting them to flower year after year since I was given the first bulb for Christmas waaaayyy back in 1981! Like you I had no idea how to look after it or if I could even get it to flower a 2nd time - now look at me!

Just keep your bulb in a light, warm place & only water the compost very little. Remember they have no roots to start with & will often flower with no roots at all! They get all their energy from the bulb itself. This of course leaves them in a very weakened state till the leaves begin to grow. Only when the leaves are growing should you increase their water intake.

Amaryllis can flower before the leaves appear or after or in between - that is they can grow & flower at any stage of leaf development. Just keep your plant frost free & it will grow when it is good & ready.

Just today I've discovered that at least 5 of my bulbs have buds just coming out of the necks of the bulbs & so I gave them a little water. I normally wait till after Christmas before watering them. Just like Daffodils they need 3 months of rest when they should be kept dry & frost free. Don't worry about leaves - during the winter they may or may not die down but in any case they should be given a rest period if you want them to flower the following year.

They are as easy to get to flower the following year as are Daffs. There is no "mystique" - I do nothing special - I've explained in other blogs & many times in comments about how to look after them so they will flower in future years.

They sometimes surprise me even after so many years of growing them! Like the Amaryllis Anglo-American that flowered twice in a few short months at the end of the year when all its siblings flowered in the spring last year though none had more than one scape!

Thanks Aleyna for the New Year wishes & I desire the same for you & your family as we as all the other members of GoY.

If you need any more advice you are most welcome to ask & I will do my best to explain & help you get the best out of your Amaryllis plants! The same goes for anyone reading my blogs on Amaryllis. Write to me in the comments or send me a PM. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. :-))

10 Jan, 2017

amy
Amy
 

Thank you for all this wonderful information David I had one as a Christmas present and wasn't sure how to treat it ,watering etc. so this is a good start for me ... Happy New Year :o)

11 Jan, 2017

 

Your welcome,Amy, if I can be on ant further assistance you know I'm only too happy to oblige!

Just this week I've discovered at least 8 bulbs with buds just peeking out of the necks of the bulbs! Some are not even in pots but just dry bulbs in paper bags that I have had hibernating!

If anybody would like a bulb or two just PM me your request with your address & I will see about sending them off! The bulbs will already have a bud peeking out of the neck so you are guaranteed 100% a flower this year!

As they are my seedlings they have not got names & I can't promise what colour you will get - other than it will be red, pink, red with varying degrees of white or white with varying degrees of red!

Some will have a star others will have varying degrees of red or white veining. Just check out my blogs & you will see the great variety I have!

12 Jan, 2017

 

Balcony, I loved the photos, and did not see your wonderful blog until today, Feb 18. I am behind schedule most of the time, or occasionally ahead. Very annoying,but I am old. One last question, when the Amaryllis is having the "rest" should I keep it where? In a dark,cool place, obviously in the same pot? I have hooked a few more that are interested in the idea of leaving them in their pots...
I cannot believe all you have accomplished with these all on a balcony!

18 Feb, 2017

 

Thanks for your kind comments, Wells!

While your Amaryllis is resting it doesn't seem to bother them whether they are in the light or dark. Just keep them dry & cool for 3 months & they will start to send up buds as soon as they are good& ready!

For many years, till they increased so much I couldn't keep them as before, they spent all winter in the windows of our two bedrooms & the kitchen. I even used to give them a little water from time to time till I found out they are happy to be kept dry all winter. The windows are all double glazed so they never get frosted no matter how low the temps maybe outside.

We rarely open the radiators below the bedroom windows so they get no supplemental heat yet they continue to flourish there!

19 Feb, 2017

 

Thank you, B. You have made it simple and apparently works. I don't have a balcony but have some other places that I will squirrel them away. I just love the shot of the ones on the living room table. What fun!

19 Feb, 2017

 

Well our Amaryllis bloomed but they were over so quickly this year that for the first time my OH wondered aloud if they were worth keeping in the house for so long.

Have to admit I would be glad to see the back of them! So there!!

23 Feb, 2017

 

Thanks, Wells :-))

Eirlys, I understand how you feel! Don't imagine that I don't feel the same at times! I have probably close on a 100 bulbs all at different stages from full dormancy to post flowering! Some flowers last up to several weeks while others seem to be over in a week or so! Then you most often have to wait year for them to flower again!

Imagine then having around 100 pots of them with their long leaves all summer! I thought I was going to have a lot of trouble with them this coming summer. For the last 8/9 years I had taken them down to my friend Gerry's allotment for 6 months but as he has now given his allotments back to the Town Council I thought I would have nowhere to put them this summer but he has since told me that I can take them round to his house. He has a big garden & the shelves I used to use on his allotment he has put in his garden so I can put the pots there! :-))

28 Feb, 2017

 

Well...
You are the master of Balcony's gardeners :)
Wonderful flowers

28 Feb, 2017

 

Thank you, Aleyna! I wouldn't say that as there are probably others out there that have better balcony gardens than me!

I don't go in for competitions as I only garden for my own satisfaction & if I please others at the same time - well, all good & well!

5 Mar, 2017

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