Often called the art and soul of winter, no home should be without an amaryllis.
These bulbs are at our local nurseries, grocery, hardware and big box stores and they make wonderful hostess gifts. Most bulbs come in a box suitable for gifting or you can pot one up in a pretty flowerpot. The pot should be just a bit wider than the bulb.
My favorite potting soil for houseplants is Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix. The top quarter of the bulb needs to be above the soil so that water won’t collect in the sprout. Water regularly like all of your other houseplants. If you want to speed up the growing and blooming process, get a seed growing mat and put it where it will receive as much light as possible. The leaves can be quite large and sprawling, so you may want to tie them up or support in some way.
When the flowers appear, I cut them and either display them alone in a vase or add to a bouquet of other flowers.
One of Naperville Garden Club’s members was strolling a flower market in Europe and as she was taking in the overwhelming beauty, she was puzzled by a bucket full of amaryllis blooms. She knows the flower world very well, but out of context (not being part of a potted plant), she couldn’t name it. So don’t feel that you need to display a huge houseplant, just cut the bloom and enjoy wherever you like!
Our next meeting will be Wed., Feb. 22, 2023, and everyone is invited to attend our program as our guests. We will have our business meeting before you arrive, so have a leisurely morning and come at 10:15AM to learn about climate change from our guest speaker, Dr. Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist. The program will start at 10:30AM. All are welcome, but you must register by Mon., Feb. 20, so that we will have enough seating.
To reserve a spot, contact Barbara at (630) 650-4405 or barbhiner@comcast.net. This meeting will be at the Naperville Municipal Center in the meeting room on the lower level. Please join us to learn more about what we can do to slow climate change.
