Amaryllis care guide

An amaryllis arrives as a dry bulb in a box, a bulb already in a pot, a bulb in a glass of water or a waxed bulb. A dry bulb needs planting first, as described in “Planting the bulb”. A waxed bulb needs no water at all, only light.

Protect it from cold on the way home, because below about 10 °C (50 °F) the leaves are damaged, and unwrap it as soon as you are inside.

While the stalk grows, give it a sunny window and turn the pot a little every day so the stalk grows straight. Once the flowers open, move it out of direct sun to a cooler spot, about 15 to 18 °C (59⁠–⁠64 °F), so they last longer. A tall stalk with big flowers may need a thin stake.

A potted bulb needs drainage holes. If it sits in a decorative pot or foil without holes, lift it out to water and empty any water that collects. Then check the soil: with no shoot yet, keep it only barely moist. Once leaves or a stalk are growing, water whenever the surface begins to dry.

A bulb often sends up one or two stalks, each with several flowers that open in turn and fade one by one. That is how amaryllis flowers, not a problem.

After planting, water once and then keep the soil only barely moist until the green shoot appears. Too much water before there are leaves to use it rots the bulb.

Once it grows, water whenever the soil surface begins to dry, and never leave water in the saucer. In Botanicaly’s plant data that is about every 6 days while the leaves grow, but the soil decides. Keep watering green leaves after flowering. Stop only if you choose a cool, dry rest for a mature bulb.

Put it in a sunny window while the leaves and stalk grow, and turn the pot a little every day so the stalk grows straight. Once the flowers open, move it out of direct sun to make them last longer. Tall stalks with big flowers may need a thin stake.

Start feeding at half strength when new growth is visible, including while it flowers if leaves are growing. Continue every two weeks through spring and summer while the leaves remain green. Stop only when you start an optional cool rest.

Keep it at 20 to 24 °C (68⁠–⁠75 °F) while it roots and grows, away from radiators. Once it flowers, a cooler spot at 15 to 18 °C (59⁠–⁠64 °F) keeps the flowers fresh for longer. Below about 10 °C (50 °F) the leaves are damaged.

Ordinary room air suits an amaryllis. It does not need misting.

Plant the bulb between October and January in a pot only 2.5 to 5 cm (1⁠–⁠2 in) wider than the bulb, with drainage holes and ordinary free-draining potting mix. Leave the top half of the bulb above the soil. A dry neck helps prevent rot. Repot every two to three years after flowering. In other years just replace the top few centimeters of soil when you restart it.

The flower uses up much of the bulb’s food, and the leaves refill it. Cut off the faded stalk, keep the plant in your sunniest window, water when the top of the soil dries and feed every two weeks. Once frosts are over, around late May, it can go outside: a few days in shade first, then a spot with some sun. Bring it back in by mid-September.

Cut off each flower as it fades so the plant does not put its strength into seed. When the last one is done, cut the stalk about 2.5 to 5 cm (1⁠–⁠2 in) above the bulb, but leave every leaf. A bulb that keeps four or more healthy leaves through summer is usually big enough to flower again.

The next flowers come only after months of leaf growth, so expect them about a year later, not in a few weeks.

A rest is not required for another bloom. You can keep the plant growing in bright light. Use a cool, dry rest only if you want to control the flowering time.

For a timed bloom, stop watering and feeding. Put it somewhere cool and dry. It does not need light.

The leaves turn yellow. Cut them off once they are brown and dry.

Keep the bulb at about 10 to 13 °C (50⁠–⁠55 °F) for at least 8 to 10 weeks. A cool cellar, garage or unheated room works if it stays frost-free.

Then replace the top few centimeters of soil, water once and bring it somewhere warm and bright. Water more once the shoot appears.

Flowers follow about four to eight weeks later. To aim for Christmas, count back both the full 8 to 10 week rest and another four to eight weeks for flowering.

To grow one in water, set the bulb in a forcing vase or on a layer of pebbles in a glass, with the roots hanging down. Keep the water about 2.5 cm (1 in) below the bulb so only the roots touch it, top it up as needed and turn the glass now and then.

A waxed bulb needs no water at all and flowers within four to six weeks. Neither can feed the bulb, so it shrinks while it flowers. Treat both as a one-season plant. If you want to try to keep one, peel off the wax carefully after flowering, pot it in soil, keep the leaves growing and feed it well. It may flower again after the next rest, but often skips a year.