Get ready for a show! Watch them grow!
If you received your Amaryllis as a “growing kit” start here.
Get Ready to Grow-Amaryllis are valued for their ability to produce huge, glorious flowers indoors during the gray days of winter- plus they can be saved for re-bloom from year to year!
The potting soil in your bulb container is completely dry in order to keep the bulb dormant, so you’ll need to water it WELL with warm water to get things underway.
Add enough water to thoroughly moisten the soil, making sure the bulb is straight with tip up. Next, follow instructions below to bring your amaryllis to bloom.
If you received your Amaryllis “ready to bloom” start here.
Bringing Your Amaryllis into Bloom– Put the pot in a bright WARM spot. Amaryllis are happiest in 70-80 temperatures. If your home is cool, set the pot on top of a warm appliance or near a sunny window.
VERY IMPORTANT: After initial watering, water ONLY when the top inch of the soil is dry. Watering too often- especially until stem is 3-4″ tall- can cause the bulb to rot. It can take a few weeks before the bulb begins to grow. If you’re not sure, pick up the bulb and look to see if white roots are growing from bottom of the bulb. If you see white roots, this is a good sign! Make sure bulb is not sitting in water. Don’t worry! Be patient, keep it warm and please don’t over water!
Once a stem emerges, give your Amaryllis lots of bright light or sunshine. Turn the pot daily if the tall stalk begins to lean toward the light. Once it begins to bloom, move the pot out of direct sun, which makes the flowers last longer. As each bloom fades, snip it off close to the stalk to encourage more blooms and even more stems! Feel free to pinch off the stamen (anthers containing pollen in the bloom).
When there are no more buds on a stem, cut off the entire stalk about 2″ above the bulb. Don’t cut off any leaves.
How to Save the Bulb To Re-Bloom Next Year
Once your Amaryllis has finished blooming, set it in your sunniest window, continue to water when the top inch of the soil is dry and optionally, begin fertilizing every month with any water-soluble fertilizer.
Around May, set the container outside in full to part sun for the rest of the summer. Optionally, remove bulb from vessel and plant into ground somewhere out of the way, it will be here just through the warm months.
The goal now is to encourage it to grow big, strong leaves, which creates a BIG, healthy bulb. The bigger the bulb, the more flowers it will produce!
In the Fall, after the first frost, cut off ALL the foliage just above the bulb, bring the pot indoors or dig bulb from ground and put it in a cool 50-60F dark place for 8-10 weeks. I put mine in a paper bag. DO NOT WATER AT ALL DURING THIS TIME. Amaryllis must go through a dormant period to develop flower buds inside the bulb. After about 8-10 weeks, bring it out and start at the beginning of this page. Place in pot with soil or use same pot. Amaryllis bloom best when they are pot bound, so there’s no need to repot them every year. ENJOY!
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