Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the large Flamed Amadeus Amaryllis bulb and talked about how it was moving faster than the second Christmas bulb we planted in November.  Below, you can see a photo of the current state of the "other one" - named Shine Dream Amaryllis .  The container for this one has moss covering the soil which makes this a little bit more festive/decorated.  They were both bought and planted in early/mid-November , so they're at about five weeks since planted.  Shine Dream *also* has large blooms with the description saying that they can be up-to-eight-inches and take eight-to-ten weeks to 'unfurl'.   This Shine Dream is a little bit behind the Flamed Amaryllis , but the tip of the flower bud has begun to emerge from the bulb, too.  Each stem will get multiple flowers, so here's hoping we get 3-4 stems and the first few flowers in time for Christmas in a week.  

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....

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...