Amaryllis Challenge (open to all)

[Horus]

I must say that is pretty impressive and the flower stalk does not look as if it is being forced as it is nice and green

[LovelyLadyLux]

But there are NO leaves. Your plant looks much more like a real plant and I bet you could get yours to grow or keep growing after it flowers. I think all the energy of the bulb is programmed to go into the bulb produce a big flower and then poop out Will see if I get leaves afterwards - maybe and I'm going to keep it growing but my "maybe" is pretty weak.

Am hoping the bloom will last through Christmas It is JUST cracking out now.

[Horus]

Mine will not be flowering by then, maybe New Year

[LovelyLadyLux]

@H - I think that is cause your plan isn't as highly genetically modified as mine!

[Mad Dilys]

I haven't seen any Amaryllis for sale at all this year. I always grew them before I moved here.

However, when my taxi brought me back from the city by a different route the other day I spied a tiny shop loaded with plants virtually round the corner of this maze that I live in. I'll pop round there and see if they have any, though it's a bit late.

[Horus]

It's never too late MD

[LovelyLadyLux]

Never too late. Our grocery stores still have some amaryllis and paper whites outside their doors for sale and I think if kept chilled they don't start to sprout. My amaryllis is crossed with bamboo and is the "leafless" variety!

[Mad Dilys]

Have you thought that the temperature may have something to do with the lack of leaves on your plant?

I wonder as I have found this with hyacinths in particular. It is always a good idea to keep the temperature low while it produces a good root system, other wise they will shoot up and not last long. We used to plant them early and keep them under a bed in a cool room for a couple of months.

On reflection I did have tall almost leafless Amaryllis in my kitchen when I had a wood burning stove in it - so cosy.

[Mad Dilys]

It's never too late MD

It is if all the B*****s have been sold.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I think my house runs to the cool side - I have it at 68F in the daytime and 64F at night. My bedroom is in another part of the house and I sleep with a window open as I love the bedroom to get as cold at night cause my blankets are made for cold freezing temperatures.

The second stalk of my amaryllis is almost as tall now as the first. I'm thinking they'll bloom within a day or two of each other.

[Mad Dilys]

That knocked the theory on the head.

[Horus]

That knocked the theory on the head.

I agree mine sits in a nice warm bay window with a radiator directly below it.

[Mad Dilys]

Well maybe it's the reverse - the light inspires the growth of the flower stalk and the heat inspires the growth of the leaves - other way round to Hyacinths? Mikes sense t me considering where they naturally grow.

I heard a lovely thing on the wireless today about Poinsettias. This guy produced them by the many thousand in a huge range of colours, but never had them in his house.

When he was asked about that he said " It's funny you ask because the very last plant of the season is given to my Mother who puts it on a table in her house. After 8 month's it is finished and gets thrown away."

[Horus]

Funny you mention Poinsettias MD where I lived in Africa we had several growing down the drive, if left alone they grow into lovely large bushes and naturally have the red bracts each year that turn the normally green shrub into a blaze of crimson red. Last year I bought a ready made up basket that had in it amongst other things a small Poinsettia, because the other stuff was still growing away I had left it and surprise, surprise it now has small red bracts at the end of each small branch. The plant itself is a bit less compact and is taking on its natural bush shape with smaller leaves, but hey I cant complain.

Here is an old snap of a friends mother having a quick pose in front of one of mine.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Yours is gorgeous H and Poinsettias are very pretty, definitely say "Christmas" but on Boxing Day I'm starting to think where can I put you and by Dec 27th they just don't 'fit' anymore and definitely if you still have your poinsettia by February or March they're really out of place unless you can get them naturalized outside somewhere (but too cold for them here)

[Mad Dilys]

I saw big red Poinsettias in the garden of the Cataract Hotel in February 1989, right outside the dining room, lovely. Big Crotons in many colours too.

Poinsettias are light sensitive, so on an industrial scale they can be produced at their best any time of the year simply by controlling the light source. This means blacking out the greenhouses sometimes and sometimes supplying electric lighting.

I love them, well worth the effort.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'm at 1pm on the 24th so I'm NOT going to have open flowers by this time tomorrow but enough colour it'll be nice. Note I'm taking the photo UP as sitting on my table (which is what is called a 'bar height') the flower it now higher than my head.



On another note this is now how my TALL GANGLY amaryllis looks. There are now 2 leaves between the stalks but you really have to look to see them as they're still only an inch or so high. The second flower stalk is almost as high as the first. If the second stalk continues to grow it will be as tall as the first by the time it flowers. I believe my first flower stalk has now stopped putting on the Inches.



I'm going to continue to grow this once the flowers are done to see if it does sprout leaves but I think I'm going to transplant it into a bigger pot. OR maybe I should leave it in the small pot - hmmmmm dunno. Decisions decisions.

Amaryllis do come with pre-sized pots and earth and I planted my bulb into that. The small pot is designed to crowd the roots and I'm wondering how this contributes to the actual growing of the plant? And I can see that Horus has the same set up in that you buy a kit and it comes with everything already prepared. Am wondering IF there are special fertilizers put into the soil that activate on water that promote flowering but delay leaf formation? (No nitrogen but phosphorus and potassium?) Because Horus and I planted at about the same time. I doubt the actual "living" conditions between households are that different to account for Horus to be getting a more normal growing plant whilst I have something crossed with fast growing bamboo?

They're beautiful flowers and I quite like them. Years ago I visited over Christmas a coworker girlfriend who lived with her Mom who was in her 90ies. On a fern stand by her door she had the most gorgeous display of amaryllis I have ever seen in that she had about 6 or maybe even 7 bulbs all flowering bright red on stalks about 14" high. These were all planted close together in what I'd consider a semi-cramped pot and they'd put moss and rocks to cover the soil and make it look a bit decorative.

My gf said her mother had been growing this amaryllis for years and years and it faithfully flowered every year around Christmas. She didn't really know how her mom was looking after it but these amaryllis were definitely different from what I've bought over the years as they were able to sustain and re-grow on a yearly basis. The display of all of them was gorgeous.

[Horus]

At least yours has flowered for Christmas, but mine is catching up
I have just taken this shot (hence the dark background) and as you can see the bud is getting ready to open, so maybe by New Year
And I put a tape measure alongside to show the size which is now 22 inches tall

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'll measure mine tomorrow as am sure it has grown again but the height of yours seems much more normal than mine and that you've got - what 5 or 6 leaves is making yours a nice looking plant too. You pot looks slightly larger than the one that came in the kit with mine but can't tell.

Mine at the height it is is a conversation piece!

Love your orchids in the background too. I've been thinking of acquiring some but I'm still not quite 'setup' in this place with a spot to keep and grow them. I also need to read up on them prior to commencing purchases.

[Horus]

Those are 'Moth' Orchids LLL and are now about past their best as they have had those same flowers on for about 3 months now so they are due to fall off soon and should have more flowers around June next years