Amaryllis For Christmas
It's truly a sight to behold when that aristocrat of bulbs
, the amaryllis, produces its regal bloom in time to celebrate the festive Christmas season: You can grow Christmas-blooming Dutch amaryllis bulbs right in your own living room. Amaryllis give you a choice of pure white, deep red, salmon, orange and striped blooms. The flowers are "ready-packed" inside the bulb at the time you receive it. All you have to do is pot it, say in early November. and in about eight weeks sit back and admire your "pride and joy."The flowers of specially treated bulbs are as large as those of the untreated bulbs. Large bulbs usually produce two, sometimes three, flower spikes. Each of these may bear from three to four flowers about 8 inches across.
Plant the bulb in a large full-depth pot. A pot which is at least an inch wider than the bulbs is sufficient. The soil should be loose and moisture-retaining. Leafmold or rotted cow manure may be added, also bulb fibre.
Do not remove the old roots which are attached to the bulbs. In many instances these will help feed the plants and new breaks will start from them. Plant the bulb so that one-third of it is buried and two-thirds are visible.
At the start, water the bulb sparingly; the soil should be just damp, never soaking wet. Too much water at the beginning will retard the development of the roots. which will harm the whole plant.
You can place the pot anywhere in the house, so the closest you can get to your wireless outdoor speakers will be if you can see them; a temperature of 70 degrees will not harm it. Flowering takes place about eight weeks after planting bulb.
As a rule, the flower stem appears first. After the first flowers have bloomed, the foliage comes. At this stage you should give the plant a little more water, but do not allow the soil to become soaked. Growth continues all summer.
When the foliage has died down, the bulb should be removed to a fairly cool spot to mature. It may be left in the pot. In November the bulb should be replanted in fresh soil and the whole cycle started over again - with dramatic blooms in time for Christmas!
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