We have an amaryllis “Apple Blossom” that last flowered in September on a short, stubby pole and it was unexpected and disappointing that it was all over rather quickly. Since then, the bulb has remained fat and stubbornly inactive until about a month or so ago, when it decided to have another go and began to send up a flower spike.
Fast forward to the start of April and this time, we have four flower buds atop a stunning 2.5′ (75 cm) spike. It is so tall I’ve had to weigh the pot down and truss the spike with “guide ropes”. Frequent turning of the pot stopped the spike from leaning too far in one direction.
Returning from the Easter holiday we came back to all four flowers open, facing the compass directions like some sort of floral air raid siren.
The long winter makes this a very welcome and cheering sight. The amaryllis is a few years old now and is going through a period of random flowering times as it returns to its usual flowering habit (after being forced for Christmas). I still find it fascinating each time it starts to send a flower spike up. It grows so quickly, it really does rocket skywards. We’ve had this one bulb long enough for it to produce a couple of offsets that have been separated and potted on.
While I’ve read several ways on how to treat amaryllis so that it flowers at Christmas, I’m just going to let it continue doing its thing; that way I don’t know when it’s going to flower nor what I’ll get (single spike? double? three flowers? flour?). I still don’t know the signal that triggers a seemingly dead/inactive bulb into life and sending a flower spike up. It’s these sudden and rapid changes after long periods of remaining constant that surprise and delight.
8 comments