Q. I have had a magnificent amaryllis blooming with two four-blossom blooms this past December. I would like to take care of it so that it will bloom again. I purchased it from Home Depot in November. The stems that produce the blooms have now faded, so I cut them off. Several tall green spikes still look handsome. While it was first growing I would mist it daily. Lately I have made sure to keep the soil moist. It gets sunny south window exposure. Thanks for the input. Paul Twedt – Tacoma, WA
A. These bulbs and their offsets (smaller bulbs that form along side the parent bulb) can be grown for many years. If they are taken care of properly they will become larger and produce more flowers with each consecutive year. The key to keeping the Amaryllis (Hippeastrum ) is understanding the natural conditions that it evolved in. So my first caveat is not to keep these bulbs too wet. Let the soil dry out slightly between waterings since Amaryllis comes from arid regions of South Africa. The window you have it in is ideal since it sounds like the sunniest window in your house. I am glad that you have left the foliage on the plant because the bulbs will need those leaves to produce food for the bulb and the developing flower buds. The plants will grow until the fall so you can bring them out into the garden for the summer once the danger of frost has passed. Since the Amaryllis kits you normally find in stores provide only peat moss as the growing medium you will need to provide a well-balanced fertilizer to the plants over the growing season. In the early fall slowly withhold water to force the bulb into dormancy (the leaves will die back) and then store in a cool dark place (unheated garage approximately 50 degrees F). Then in two months take it out and repot it in some cactus-growing medium in a new pot that is just two inches wider in diameter than the bulb. Place back in your sunny window and start the process all over.