Why I Oughta...

About three weeks ago, we planted a pair of large amaryllis bulbs in some terra cotta containers (that we had on hand for this very purpose) and had dreams of Christmas blooms.   The first one (without moss) is a Flamed Amadeus Amaryllis that had good roots, but was showing no growth.  Not even foliage tips.  Now, three weeks (or so) later along with a little bit of water, a lot of light and even some warm conditions (these are on a stone table that sits on top of a heat vent in a full southern-exposure window in our dining room), we're seeing the first bud tips emerge from the bulb.  Below is a look at the Flamed Amadeus Amaryllis just starting to show the first bud tip. Shine Dream Amaryllis is the name of the other bulb we planted.  This one has moss around the top of the soil, but was treated the same (water, light, heat).   This one (below) is showing two flower bud tips coming out of the top of the bulb and is a little big further along....

November is the time when the outdoor garden gets put to bed for the year, but it is also the time when I turn to some indoor (seasonal) gardening.  That usually starts with Amaryllis bulbs - or as we call them around here:  Christmas flowers.   Last month, I posted some photos and details of the $10 Amaryllis bulbs that my local Orange Big Box store was carrying and talked about how their smaller (than what we normally buy) size would work well for a 'multiple' bulb container. My mom has this faux birch cache pot that seemed like a perfect vessel for three smaller Christmas flowers.   I figured I'd fill it up and we can deliver it back to her for the season. At the story, I picked-up and handled dozens of bulbs until I could find three that 'felt good' to me.  That meant that they were firm, green, had *some* roots and the foliage wasn't all strap-y and exposed already.  I've had bad luck with Big Box Amaryllis bulbs before (I've also had duds f...

At the Wannemaker's Annual Christmas Open House, we met the Big Guy (of course), ate some grilled foods from Casey's and...came away with two big amaryllis bulbs.  As is the tradition.  Each of my two youngest kids picked out a bulb that there plant as we try (*fingers crossed*) to get some Christmas flowers.  I previously posted some details of amaryllis bulbs at Home Depot this season .  Last year, I planted two bulbs from Wannemakers:  A Double Dream .  And an Exotic Star .   The Exotic Star bloomed right around the New Year .  But, the Double Dream was a total dud.  It sent up a bud tip in March (yes...March!), but then it withered and died.   In 2023, we planted three .  One of them was a dud - Samba. But, the La Paz went off quickly. With a Rilona Amaryllis coming in right in-between.  Blooming in January .   This year, we are trying two new (to us) bulbs.  Here are the two tags of the bulbs they...

There I was, buying some self-leveling concrete gap filler at the Home Depot big box store when I (of course) found myself wandering into the garden center to see what they had doin' in there.  In addition to all of the Christmas decor they've put up (trees, inflatables, those *REALLY STRONG SMELLING* bags of cinnamon pinecones), they also have a large display of Amaryllis bulbs.  This display seems larger than in previous years where they (iirc) mostly had those 'kits' of bulbs with peat pucks and little plastic pots.   I took a couple of photos showing the bulbs and thought it would be best to go home and try to figure out if any of these were worth buying.  We normally buy sets of these from Wannemakers, but maybe this year we should try some of these slightly smaller Christmas flowers? Here is a photo of the first set: And, here below, is a look at each of the ones in this part of the display: Blossom Peacock Amaryllis: Via Amaryllis Bulb Co :  "Bl...

I figured we had a total dud with one of our Amaryllis bulbs this past Winter.  It never took off.  But, look at what we're seeing right now:  the tip of the flower bud has emerged - see below.  Will it take off?  Or is is this all we'll see this year?  Guessing failure to launch will persist, but...for now, I'll keep it inside and watered.   

The Exotic Star Amaryllis bulb continues to bloom - now all the way until mid-January 2025.  I last posted about the Amaryllis' that we're growing was on January 1 - so a little bit over two weeks ago.  At that time, the first bloom had appeared on the Exotic Star, while the 'Double Dream' Amaryllis was still in dormancy.  Today....same situation.  Here, below, are a couple photos showing the Exotic Dream in bloom with the striped petals and candy-apple-green center. I like the 'dotted line' nature of the stripes.  You can see them in the close-ups below: The Double Dream is stuck - so we're (right now) hitting 50% bloom for the season. 

We grew two Amaryllis bulbs this Christmas season - an Exotic Star Amaryllis and a Double Dream Amaryllis .  Both were 'nice' bulbs from the garden center - not a big box store kit-type bulb.  I don't seem to have posted about these in December, but one of them - the Exotic Star - took off.  While the other one (Double Dream) stayed dormant.  That has held true all the way until today - early January. The Double Dream is still dormant.  But, the Exotic Star is in full bloom with three flowers opening up and showing their stripes.   See below for a what the Exotic Star looks like currently.  Note those bottom (and side) petals being a tad LONGER than the one sticking up at the top.  That's part of the 'design' of Exotic Star Amaryllis .  So, too are the red stripes on white petals and the 'green apple' highlights.   Once the stalk(s) started to get a couple inches from the bulb, I started to water this one with the diluted alco...

Yesterday, I posted the details of the first of our two Christmas Amaryllis bulbs - the Double Dream Amaryllis .  Today, are a few photos and some details of the second one named Exotic Star Amaryllis.  This one is also one of the 'larger', individual bulbs from Wannemaker's vs the ones you find in the 'kits' at big box stores.  History tells me that these *usually* do better than the kit bulbs.   NOTE:  Last year, I had a dud - a Samba Amaryllis never grew a flower stalk .   The Double Dream is named appropriately - as it is a 'double amaryllis' - with two layers of petals in the bloom. The Exotic Star is a 'single amaryllis' with one layer of petals.  This one stuck out - when looking at the boxes on the shelves.  (There are also something called 'Spider Amaryllis'.  I grew a variety named La Paz Amaryllis last season .  They're different, but quite striking.) Longfield Gardens describes the Exotic Star:   "The flo...

As is the custom around here, we planted some Amaryllis bulbs in small containers in the time right around Thanksgiving.  We picked this one up - the Double Dream - at Wannemaker's.  Below is the bulb set in the soil and below that is the plant/bulb tag showing the fully-grown pinkish full bloom of the Double Dream Amaryllis.  

It is still Amaryllis season in our house with three different varieties all working on their own (different) schedules in terms of bloom time.  The fastest one - out of the gate - was the La Paz .  It is a Spider Amaryllis and has a different look than the traditional spade-shaped-petals of most Amaryllis that we've grown.  Our La Paz Amaryllis bloomed in mid-December .  And is still putting out blooms today.  Pretty good.  The next one - the feature of this post - is the Rilona Amaryllis.  This is another unique (to me) bulb in that it isn't red and it isn't white.  And it isn't red and white.  It is salmon-colored.  And quite lovely.  Doesn't have the same OOOMPH that a dark red one does, but still a really lovely flower and the color sure brighten ups the dark days around here in January.  Reminds me of the Disneyland Rose . Here's a post showing the three bulbs when we bought them at Wannemakers . Here's a post just about ...

Just a few days ago, I posted photos of the three different Amaryllis bulbs that we're growing this season and showed how the new (to us) Spider variety - La Paz - was way, way, way ahead of the others.  Just a few days later and the La Paz is putting on a full holiday show.    It has three tall, slender (maybe too tall) flower stalks that each have multiple flowers dangling from the top.   See below for the current state: I say 'maybe too tall' because I didn't get around to watering this with an alcohol mix until it was too late, so it shot way up.  I've used a single-prong flower stem support to keep them upright.  As the stalks were growing up, I was able to sort-of 'tuck' them into the support and keep them centered and (hopefully) stop them from flopping over. Here, below, is the Amaryllis support that I use to keep the top-heavy flowers from flopping-over.  It is about 12" tall and I stick it into the soil at the base of the bulb.

Back in mid-November, we bought three different Amaryllis bulbs and planted them indoors in three identical terracotta containers .  In some years, we get blooms timed right up with Christmas.  In other years, we end up with blooms that arrive in January or later.  Either is great - having blooms early or having them arrive late.  This year, we *may* end up getting a bit of both.    As I mentioned in the intro post , the La Paz (Spider Amaryllis variety) was off to a fast start.  That has continued with (now) three flower stalks that have shot up and the first of which is already opening.  See below for the La Paz Amaryllis: With a couple of weeks until Christmas, I'm thinking we'll have Spider blooms come December 25th. Next up, and a little behind the La Paz, is the Rilona (Galaxy variety) Amaryllis.  This bulb has shot up one bloom stalk (so far), but it is much more compact that the La Paz.   See below for the current state of t...

'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 ...

The last of the new Amaryllis bulbs is in full bloom this season.  A week ago, I showed the Flamenco Queen flowers on a very tall, slight stalk .  Today I'm posting a photo of the red and white striped Sunshine Nymph in full double bloom.  This is the second-straight season that we've grown the Sunshine Nymph and in both situations it bloomed after Christmas.  Here's last year's post from early January (just about a year ago today) when that version of the Sunshine Nymph was in bloom .    I attempted to keep and force last year's Sunshine Nymph this year , but so far, no stalks or buds.  

We didn't get Christmas blooms out of this Flamenco Queen Amaryllis bulb, but the wait was worth it.  I last posted a photo of this plant at the very end of 2022 and showed the stalk had shot up with a bud at the tip .  Today?  It is wide-open.  And has two of the most-striking flower blooms on opposite sides of the stalk that we've ever grown.  See below for a look at the Flamenco Queen with red and white-striped petals and a lime-green center. Below is a photo showing that 'opposite' set of blooms.  And the two more that are on their way: This is also - by far - the tallest, lanky-est Amaryllis we've ever grown.  Even after we 'poisoned it' with an alcohol mix in December.  How tall? It is showing blooms that are 25.5" above the top of the bulb.  See below for the measurement:  It has started to lean, so I stuck in a plant support that you can see below.  The hard part with these Amaryllis bulbs and plant supports is that the widt...

Yesterday, I showed the high and low blooms on the Magic Touch Amaryllis that we grew this Christmas season .  We also planted two *other* new bulbs at the same time - a Flamenco Queen and a Sunshine Nymph.  Neither of these bloomed for Christmas.  But, both of them have tall, proud stems with a large bud on top.  But, neither have made any moves to open or bloom just yet.  Maybe by New Year's Day? Here's the Sunshine Nymph Amaryllis below.  First a photo of the tag and then followed by a shot of the tip of the stem: And, here below, is the Flamenco Queen Amaryllis.  This one is very tall and slender.  I've been watering them with an alcohol mix, but that didn't seem to slow this one down.  It started to lean a little bit, so I used this plant support to keep it upright. 

Twelve days ago, I showed our first Amaryllis bloom:  A magic touch set of two flowers that didn't grow up at all - just bloomed straight from the bulb .  Weird.  The other two (new) bulbs still haven't flowered.  But, they've shot upwards.  This post shows the post-Christmas view of just the Magic Touch - I'll get to the other two tomorrow.   Did we get Christmas blooms this year?  Yes.  We did.  The Magic Touch.  We're going to get New Years blooms, too.  Here's what the top of the Magic Touch looks like today:

A week ago, I posted an update on the three new Amaryllis bulbs that we're growing this year and talked about how they are at different stages of growth .  One of them - the Magic Touch - is what I'd call the furthest along and has two flower stalks.  But, those two are VERY different, too.   One of them is taking a normal shape and form.  Tall and proud.  With a flower bud at the top.  The other one?  Failed to launch.  Didn't grow much up from the bulb at all.  But what did it do?  It flowered.  ALREADY.  A mid-December Amaryllis bloom.  Holy moly.  This is a lovely red, too.  What do I mean by 'failure to launch'?  See the photo below showing the two flower stalks.  The one in bloom is barely out of the bulb: And, here's a look at the backside of the bloom showing that ANOTHER flower is set to open in the same spot: Magic Touch Amaryllis is a fast-mover (for us, this year) and has produced the e...

We're about half-way between when we planted our annual Christmas Amaryllis bulbs and the big day - December 25th - when I would (ideally) want blooms.  This is a (partial) progress report showing the three newly acquired bulbs .  Why just these three new ones (and not the bulbs that I kept from last year)?  Because these are the ones that are showing action on the stalk growth and the three that are furthest along.   All three of these bulbs were bought from Wannemakers in early/mid November and were planted up right around Nov 17th.  That puts these three weeks from their first watering.  And just over two weeks until Christmas Day.  Will any of them bloom in time?   First up is the Flamenco Queen Amaryllis .  This is what I think is the most unique of the three - with green centers and white-speckled red petals.  The leaves and first flower stalk are up out of the neck of the bulb, but not too much height so far.  Phot...

This past weekend, we went over to the local garden center to meet the Big Guy and his reindeer.  We've done this same deal a number of years and it is a nice way to start the holiday season.  In addition to having the kids visit with Santa for a few minutes, we also buy our annual allotment of Christmas flowers - Amaryllis bulbs.  These bulbs are big and nicely cared for and (this year) cost $21 each.  I'm pretty sure that when we started doing this, these bulbs were $15.  This year, we're growing three new bulbs as well as attempting to force four from last year.  I picked out one and two of the kids picked out their own, too.   Below are the tags of the three we came home with:  Flamenco Queen, Magic Touch and Sunshine Nymph.   These bulbs come nicely packed with a little padding for protection.  They're also MUCH larger than the bulbs you'd find in the typical packaged 'set' that includes a container, potting material and t...