If you learn how to grow amaryllis, you’ll be rewarded with gorgeous flowers year-round - because unlike many blooming plants, these won’t be hindered by harsh outdoor growing conditions.
Bright and bountiful, amaryllis flowers prove that winter doesn’t have to be bleak.
These bulbs, commonly grown indoors, are easy to grow and symbolize love, beauty, resiliency, and determination.
Perfect for the novice grower, growing amaryllis flowers is easy to do at home.
Here are some tips on how to grow amaryllis so that you can bring light to the darkest months of the year.
What Is Amaryllis?
Amaryllis is an easy-to-grow houseplant that is generally grown during the winter months. Why, you might ask?
It’s one of the few that can bloom indoors. There are technically several plants in the amaryllis gnus, including the belladonna lily, the naked lady, and the Easter lily.
As bulbous plants, they are dormant from late spring until late summer. They require a period of dormancy between leaf growth and flower spike production.
Though it is not frost-tolerant, it doesn’t do well in a tropical environment, either, because of this required period of dormancy.
You can find amaryllis flowers in just about every shape, size, and color. Most are about four to ten inches tall and can produce either single or double blooms.
Some of the most common colors include salmon, pink, red, white, rose, deep burgundy, and purple.
Does Amaryllis Come Back Every Year?
Amaryllis flowers thrive during the holiday months, leading many people to assume that they are meant for one season and one season only.
However, they can be grown year-round and continue to bloom as long as they are cared for properly.
How Many Years Will An Amaryllis Bulb Bloom?
In most cases, amaryllis bulbs can grow and bloom for decades. However, this is when you provide them with proper care.
Remember, each amaryllis plant will only bloom about once per year, so you’ll need to be patient!
What Is Needed To Grow Amaryllis?
To get started with growing amaryllis flowers, you’ll just need a few materials. Besides the bulbs themselves, you will also need some good potting soil with excellent drainage.
Although they don’t need a specific kind of soil, something that drains fast, like a mixture of peat, soil, and perlite, is ideal.
Avoid pine bark - it can hold too much moisture and lead to rot. You will also need some garden pots.
Fabric pots are good for amaryllis flowers, since they drain well and can provide your plants with the aeration they need to remain healthy.
These should be relatively large and heavy. Amaryllis bulbs are about the size of onions and they do well with crowded conditions.
Just make sure your container, if you don’t use a fabric pot, has holes in the bottom for drainage.
You can add some stones to the bottom of the container if necessary. When it comes to providing your plants with the lighting you need, you can turn to natural sunlight or some grow lights. Both will work just fine.
Can I Grow An Amaryllis In Water?
Amaryllis flowers are almost always grown indoors and rooted in soil. However, they also can be grown in water.
The main thing to keep in mind is that you do not want the bulb itself to come into contact with the water, as this will encourage rot.
The best way to do it is to use a special jar that’s meant for growing bulbs in water. You can place your bulb in a vase and add some clay pebbles or growstones.
These will help to anchor the roots stay in place without requiring the bulb to lie in a pool of water.
Caring For An Amaryllis Plant
You will be surprised at how easy it is to care for an amaryllis plant. Here are some tips.
How To Plant Your Amaryllis Bulbs
Once you receive your amaryllis bulbs, you should start by placing an inch or two of moist potting soil in the bottom of a container.
Position the bulb so that its shoulders sit above the soil, or so that the top inch sticks up. Add potting soil, then water enough to moisten the soil and set it in.
Put the container in a sunny windowsill (or under your grow lights). You may also want to place your pot on some bottom heat.
This can help your plant get going even faster. While you can use a heat mat, an easier way to do this is to simply set it on a radiator.
How Often Should Amaryllis Be Watered?
Water your amaryllis plant sparingly until it is out of the bulb. After it sprouts, you can just water lightly whenever the soil feels dry.
Try not to overwater - this is a surefire way to kill your amaryllis. Our complete guide to watering a plant is a good place to start if you're new to growing in general.
How Can I Make My Amaryllis Grow Faster?
In most cases, you will see blooms on your plant just six to twelve weeks after planting. It will produce gorgeous flowers with very little extra work on your part.
You can keep the plant healthier by turning the pot regularly. This will encourage your stalk to grow in a straight, upright fashion rather than growing “leggy.”
Amaryllis flowers grow toward the light, which is why you have to turn the pot. However, once it starts flowering, it’s a good idea to move it out of direct sunlight.
By doing this, your bulb will grow several flowers per stalk with multiple stalks. You can remove each flower as it fades and dies back.
You can also slow or speed up growth by varying the temperature. To slow its growth, put it in a cooler room (55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) or to speed it up, put it in a warmer room (75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit).
You might assume that fertilizing your amaryllis will allow you to see blooms more quickly - but hold off until you see green foliage.
You’re better off encouraging growth by putting your plant on a warm mat. Once you see green, you can fertilize with water-soluble plant food, diluted to half-strength, every other week.
How To Grow Amaryllis With Continual Blooms
To prolong the bloom time of your plants, put the plant in a cool room out of direct sunlight. Keep it cool particularly at night, ideally around 55 to 60 degrees.
This will help it stay beautiful and in bloom much longer. After each bloom fades, remove it, watching for additional flower shoots which often appear after the first ones fade.
Then, once all the blooms fade, you can cut the flower stems off at the bulb’s base. Let the foliage continue growing.
Once spring arrives and the risk of frost has passed, put the pot in the garden. As soon as it starts to get colder - and when there’s a risk of frost - bring the container inside.
In the late summer or early fall, you can remove the bulb from the container and let it dry out. In a few weeks, cut off the dead, dry leaves and repot the bulb in fresh soil to start anew.
Final Thoughts On How To Grow Amaryllis
Fortunately, growing amaryllis is much easier than you might think. Growing one of these plants is a no-brainer when you have the right know-how - and the right equipment.
You’ll find everything you need to grow this elegant winter flower when you shop with Hydrobuilder, your one-stop-shop for all your indoor and outdoor gardening needs.
