This Year's Amaryllis Bulbs - December 2023

'Tis the season for indoor Winter gardening.  It wouldn't be the Christmas season around here without growing some Amaryllis flowers from bulbs.  I've worked with the kids for a number of years to plant and grow some Christmas flowers.  Here's a look at last year's Amaryllis bulbs.   We picked three bulbs out at Wannemaker's Holiday Open House in November and planted them up.  

The three varieties we selected were new to us:  La Paz - a Spider Amaryllis.    

This La Paz is a Spider Amaryllis or 'Cybister'.  This post details how they're different:

Over the last decade, Cybister Amaryllis have become increasingly more popular. Originally hybridized in South America, Cybister Amaryllis have narrow, somewhat spidery flower petals that appear more species-like than their big saucer-shaped cousins. La Paz has upper dark coral petals, while the lower petals are greenish-white edged in dark coral with darker midveins and a starburst green throat.

Gardenia calls them 'orchid-like' and says that while they're more rare, they are increasingly popular.  

The next one is Rilona - a Galaxy Amaryllis that is a pale pink.  We've grown Galaxy flowers before and they do well.  But, this color is different.   See below for the box:

Amaryllis dot com says that Rilona is an heirloom bulb and puts out salmon or apricot-colored blooms.  

And...the last one is Samba, a variegated Galaxy Amaryllis.  John Scheepers says:

This flouncy, energetic dazzler is lipstick-red with a bright white star, ruffled white petal edges and a pale green-flushed center.

Can't wait. 
 

Most years, it takes weeks to see any action on these bulbs, but this year, the La Paz (Spider Amaryllis) is ALREADY off to a hot start.  Just a week after planting, the first flower stem has shot up a few inches.  See below:

This year, we'll have Christmas flowers, with certainty.