Soil for an amaryllis

Soil for an amaryllis

1. 01

   Best soil mix

   For an indoor Hippeastrum hybrid bulb, use a peat-free loam-based potting mix (such as John Innes No. 2) or peat-free all-purpose potting mix. Grow it in a container mix, not heavy garden soil that stays wet.

   Use a pot with a drainage hole and a free-draining medium. Avoid excess water collecting in the saucer because Hippeastrum hybrids do not tolerate permanently wet conditions.

2. 02

   Match the mix to the pot and setting

   This target is a cultivated hybrid group commonly grown as a potted indoor bulb in colder climates and outdoors in warm climates. Keep the upper two-thirds of the bulb above the potting mix or soil line, and remember that the common name Amaryllis can refer to a different plant group.

3. 03

   Soil pH

   Hippeastrum hybrids tolerate a wide pH range and have no special soil-pH requirement. They grow in acidic, loamy and sandy soils, so do not copy a narrow pH rule from another bulb.

4. 04

   When soil alone is not the problem

   Focus on drainage, a low-fertility mix and keeping the upper bulb exposed. No single mix fits every hybrid, bulb size or climate. Soil choice alone does not promise flowering.