Amaryllis flowers - home care

Amaryllis is an elegant flower that is easy to grow. It is easy to care for and sometimes blooms twice a year. Many growers love it for its aroma, some appreciate it for the fact that the flowering period is easy to bring to the desired date (for example, to the anniversary or March 8). Amaryllis at home is an exotic piece of Africa on the windowsill.

Description of amaryllis flower

Amaryllis (Amaryllis) is a representative of the Amaryllis family from South Africa. It is represented by only one species - Amaryllis belladonna, but with a large number of varieties and hybrids that differ in shape and color.

Amaryllis: home care

Amaryllis has dark green rather long narrow leaves (50 cm long and 2.5 cm wide). Fragrant flowers resemble a funnel or bell, they are collected in 4-6 umbrella inflorescences. Colors can be from white to red, including purple hues. Amaryllis blooms in autumn, as in its homeland, each flower withers after 6 days. The peduncle is very dense, 50-60 cm long, it is produced with leaves. The bulb is pear-shaped, about 5 cm in diameter.

It is very difficult to find an exotic plant in flower shops, most often hippeastrum is sold under the guise of amaryllis. Therefore, when choosing a flower, you should pay attention to a blooming specimen with a pleasant aroma and a thick peduncle.

Amaryllis inflorescences on dense peduncles

Rules for the care and maintenance of amaryllis at home

Florists know that when buying amaryllis, home care does not require special skills or difficulties in maintenance, therefore, they increasingly use the plant to decorate the interior.

Soil selection

For indoor amaryllis, ready-made soil is purchased for any bulbous plants. But some growers prefer to prepare the soil on their own according to the scheme:

1. Stir in one part of turf and humus.
2. Add two parts of the sand and mix again.
3. Sterilize the soil by deep freezing in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator or scald with boiling water.

Pot selection

Having chosen a suitable soil composition, it is important to choose the right container for a beautiful flower. Better to buy an unenamelled ceramic pot. It should be with a wide bottom and a narrowed top, sufficiently stable, since the leaves of the amaryllis are spreading, and the light pot will easily turn over. In addition, ceramics are breathable, which is also important.

The size of the pot is selected according to the size of the plant bulb. A gap of no more than 5 cm should remain between the walls of the vessel and the bulb. The depth of the pot also matters: the larger it is, the more comfortable the flower will feel. A strong root system needs room to grow.

Top dressing and fertilization

The beginning of the growing season of amaryllis is characterized by the appearance of a flower arrow. It is during this period that enhanced feeding of the plant begins so that the supply of nutrients is not depleted. The feeding regime is observed according to the scheme once every 10 days with alternating mineral and organic fertilizers.

As organic matter, mullein diluted in water 1:10 is used, and mineral fertilizers are bought in flower shops. Anyone is suitable for ornamental, flowering, indoor plants.

The beginning of active plant growth - time to start feeding

Temperature control and lighting

An exotic inhabitant of the windowsill - amaryllis - a flower that does not require special care, but does not tolerate temperature changes. During the growth period, the optimal regime will be 22 ° С during the day and 18 ° С at night, and during the rest period - not lower than 10 ° С.

The plant needs diffused light, direct sunlight can destroy the exotic. During the dormant period, it is better for the plant to be in a dark, cool place.

Watering and feeding

For watering a perennial, settled warm water is used when the soil is dry. The best way to do this is through a sump, watering the plant from above. It is important to avoid spillage on the bulb. During the dormant period, the number of waterings is reduced to a minimum in order to avoid soil acidification.

The answer to the question of why amaryllis does not bloom, but only releases leaves, lies in the amount of watering during the growing season. Until the peduncle grows to 10 cm in height, the plant is not watered. This is necessary for the amaryllis to direct all efforts to the development of the flower. If watering is not stopped, the exotic will begin to increase the deciduous mass and there will be little strength left for flowering, the peduncle will develop more slowly, and the flowers will be smaller.

Subject to the rules of watering during the period of dormancy and active growth, the question of why not the color of amaryllis will no longer arise, and the plant will delight with large inflorescences and a delicate aroma.

Indoor amaryllis during flowering

Diseases and pests of amaryllis

Experienced growers know how to care for amaryllis, but some make mistakes, which causes various diseases or pests to appear.

With excessive watering, oversaturation with nitrogen fertilizers or feeding with fresh manure, the plant can be affected by some diseases, including:

• fusarium, which is characterized by root decay;
• anthracnose, accompanied by the appearance of dark spots and brown veins on the leaves;
• stagonosporosis, or red burn, which is determined by the presence of red spots on the bulb and leaves;
• gray rot, which appears as a gray bloom on the leaves.

You can avoid such problems by treating the bulb with fungicides when planting. If infection could not be avoided, then the diseased plant is isolated from others, the affected leaves are removed, the soil is cultivated and the bulb is treated with appropriate drugs.

Like other indoor plants, amaryllis is susceptible to attack by various pests. Parasites can infect both the aerial part of the plant and the root. Among uninvited insects, the most common are:

• amaryllis worm. It settles under onion scales and affects the plant, as a result of which it loses leaves and lags behind in development;
• an onion mite that lives in the soil causes fusarium disease, in which the leaves turn yellow and the flowers become smaller;
• mealybug, which damages the leaves and stems of the plant;
• a false shield that leaves brown spots on foliage and damages flowers.

You can fight pests with insecticides and following the rules for amaryllis when planting and caring for.

A plant affected by stagonosporosis

Bulb planting rules

When buying a bulb in a flower shop, you should pay attention to its condition: it must be elastic and have flower buds, the presence of roots that have already appeared is also encouraged. A suitable bulb must be immediately planted in a pot of soil so that it is one third outside.

When choosing a large pot, daughter bulbs can appear on the flower. This method of breeding amaryllis is the simplest. All that needs to be done is to transplant the children into another pot. A young plant will be able to bloom after 3 years after separation from the mother bulb.

Seed propagation: all the subtleties of the process

Growing a new plant with seeds is much more difficult than with daughter bulbs. But such flowers can live up to 20 years or more.

In order for the plant to multiply by seeds, artificial insemination is carried out. A brush is used to collect pollen from the stamens of one flower and transfer it to the stigma of another. After a month, seeds will appear, which must immediately be planted in well-moistened soil. After that, the containers with crops are removed to a warm, dark place. The first shoots are observed after 3 weeks. With the appearance of the first three leaves, the seedlings must be transplanted into a separate container.

Amaryllis seeds

Dormancy period and how to wake up the plant after wintering

After a long growing season, the plant needs time to rest. After the amaryllis has bloomed, what to do next in the conditions of the apartment is known to all lovers of an exotic flower. Most often, it is recommended to transfer the bulbs to a dark, cool room and keep them at rest without watering and feeding. Due to the fact that at this time the bulb is growing slowly, then over time it will be necessary to make several transplants into a more spacious pot.

It is necessary to bring the plant out of dormancy gradually. First, the pot is moved to a warm place, when the first shoots appear on the bulb, it is moved to the windowsill. At this time, moderate watering is observed, which is stopped when the peduncle appears.

How to grow amaryllis so that it blooms at the desired time

To make amaryllis bloom at a specific time, it needs to provide a dormant period. Approximately 6 weeks before the desired date, for example, on the 8th of March or the birthday of a loved one, the plant is watered with warm water, bringing it out of sleep and waiting for flowering at the right time.

Blooming amaryllis

An indoor plant with a pleasant aroma of flowers will be a good option for a live bouquet or as an independent gift. The main thing is to choose a healthy specimen and provide it with decent care.