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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Naperville Gardener – How to grow an amaryllis, the Marilyn Krueger way…

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I have kept an amaryllis alive and blooming since 2002 and here’s how I do it.

First a brief history of this amazing bulb. I received it as a Christmas gift in 2002, potted it up according to directions and it bloomed almost immediately. Following directions, after blooming I deadheaded the flowers, fertilized and kept it watered until July and then took it to the basement where it sat in the dark with no water.

Sadly my mother died that November and I forgot all about it as I struggled through my new reality of not having her to talk with every day, to plan and celebrate the holidays and share the news of my family and my life as only a daughter can know that her mother will appreciate. I will always miss her love and support!

In January, the first green shoot appeared and I should have taken it upstairs to a sunny window and given it water and fertilizer. But I didn’t and after optimistically sending up a couple more shoots, my poor amaryllis gave up and went back to sleep.

Imagine my surprise when the next winter (2004/05) having been kept in the dark with no water for almost two years, I noticed a new green shoot! My amaryllis was ready to bloom, and I was ready, too.

I repotted the bulb in new potting soil in a pot about two inches wider than the bulb, keeping 25 percent of the bulb above the soil. I treat my amaryllis like most of my potted plants. I fertilize and water when it is growing, enjoy the flowers, then cut off the blooms when they fade. As long as the leaves are green and healthy, I continue to water and fertilize.

The better the leaves grow, the better the flowers will be next time.

An easy fertilizer is Osmocote, which is sprinkled on top of the soil and with each watering, a little bit is dispersed into the soil to feed the bulb. When the leaves begin to wilt, I cut them off, reduce watering and eventually the blooming season starts all over.

My method has worked for years and is a lot easier than the instructions that come with the bulb. The flowers are just gorgeous and I hope you will think so, too!

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Marilyn Krueger
Marilyn Kruegerhttp://www.napervillegardenclub.org
Marilyn Krueger is an avid local gardener and member of the Naperville Garden Club.

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