Amaryllis - The Gift that Keeps on Giving

One of my favorite catalogs arrived a couple weeks ago; John Scheepers, Inc., Beauty from Bulbs.  It is filled with beautiful bulbs just waiting for me to choose.  I hardly know where to start – tulips, Narcissus, Amaryllis, or the very special little species bulbs, and let’s not forget the lilies.  You see what I mean…. the list goes on.  I know if I will just take one day during the fall to get them in the ground I will be treated to a spring filled with indescribable beauty.  But I digress.  In the back of the catalog are the pictures and listings for all the Amaryllis bulbs.  The gargantuan bulbs that produce the same kind of flower.  Blooming just about eight to ten weeks after they are potted, depending on the indoor environment, their spectacular display can be loosely scheduled to suit your own.  And, a green thumb isn’t even necessary for growing these beauties. 

 Second only to their fabulous show during the dreary days of winter, is the fact that in our area they can be happily grown outdoors.  After mine have finished blooming and I know we are past freezing temperatures, because their foliage will freeze I plant them in an area where they will be protected from the afternoon sun.  I amend the soil with plenty of organic material and give them lots of room to grow.  After a few years your one bulb will have multiplied dramatically, producing many stems topped with gigantic blossoms for one of the most incredible floral displays your garden will ever have from such a small plant. 

(If you don’t feel like watering we have absolutely gorgeous botanical Amaryllis that will fool most people and require no attention, except an occasional dusting.)