Everyone loves flowers and during the dead of winter, they can spruce up a house with their beautiful colors. One plant that shines at this time of year is the amaryllis. If you’ve been thinking about purchasing cut flowers from the store each week to decorate your home, you might want to reconsider. One amaryllis will give you 6 to 8 weeks of fresh flowers!
The staff at Homestead Gardens says you can grow beautiful flowers in just three easy steps:
1. Pot Choice
Choose a pot 1 to 2 inches in diameter larger than the diameter of your bulb. If you want to group several bulbs together, choose a larger container about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. For soil, a potting compost mix is a good choice to provide the bulb with needed nutrients. And make certain the pot has good drainage holes, as amaryllis bulbs can easily rot when over-watered.
2. Planting
Drop your bulb into the hole and surround it with dirt up to the neck of the bulb; do not completely cover the bulb. Lightly pat the dirt around the bulb to keep it secure in the soil. Be sure to leave room between the soil and the top of the pot to allow for easy and clean watering of the pot. Give the pot a good dose of water once planted.
3. Placement
Place the pot in a sunny and warm spot in the house and you’re done. Your bulbs will bloom most quickly in a warm location. Water only when the top inch of soil is dry – be careful of over-watering. Increase the water amount as the leaves and flower buds start to appear, which will happen in 4 to 8 weeks. Rotate your pot daily to keep your amaryllis standing tall and straight.
If you want to have continuous blooms all winter long, consider setting up a rotating schedule of planting the bulbs, waiting a week or two between plantings.