Back in November Chris and Kristi (my son & daughter-in-law) gave me a lovely gift of an Amaryllis. Believe it or not, I had never had one before. What a fun gift this was since I was able to watch it grow from a bulb to beautiful flowers!
11-26-23 This tiny growth popped up. |
12-1-23 Five days later it has more than doubled its size. |
Between 12-1-23 and 1-5-24 this little plant grew very tall, but no flowers. Then on 1-6-24, it greeted me with a bulb just beginning to open.
1-6-24 The first bulb opens! |
Four days ago I woke up to three large blooms. By this time it had grown so tall that I had to tie it to a small dowel to support it.
Yesterday I discovered a fourth full-size bloom plus another bud getting ready to open! Kristi told me it would grow fast and she wasn't joking! Although it spent a month growing very tall with no flowers, once the flowers started coming they have not stopped!
It seems like winter has really arrived for most of us in this past week. Much of the country has had record-breaking low temperatures. Sunday we did not get above 0 F and on Saturday we didn't get much above it. I know the states north of us have had it much colder than that recently but for the Midwest, these are pretty cold days! Saturday our football team, the Chiefs, had a playoff game here and it ended up being the fourth coldest NFL game on record. It's hard to believe people fill the stands in this kind of cold but they do. Even Taylor Swift was there but she was in one of the enclosed boxes. She has been attending almost all of our games since she started dating one of our players, Travis Kelce.
I hope everyone is staying warm and healthy!
Amaryllis are great, aren't they! When they stop flowering, you can keep the bulb in a dark, dry, cool place and replant it next winter.
ReplyDeleteI used to have them regularly in my youth, but somehow stopped when I moved to this place 20 years ago.
It's cold here, too, but at home I manage to keep warm, and for going out I wrap up in many layers. Walking is still good, but having to stand around at train stations is not!
I didn't know you could replant them, thanks for telling me! I can imagine how standing at a train station would be quite difficult in this weather. I hope those trains arrive quickly for you!
DeleteWe've tried to regrow them but only ever get leaves, never managed to get blooms
DeleteI love Amaryllis bulbs, I have 3 here, I'm still trying to get them to flower a second year, no success yet!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time to have one and it's done well. I will try mine out again next year. Let me know any secrets you have for growing them!
DeleteBonnie, you have suddenly popped up on my side bar! I love your Amaryllis - quite an unusually dark col our. If you get them in the right place regarding light they treat you very well. Such a lovely sight in the middle of winter and they last so much longer than the usual hyacinth/daffodil/other spring bulbs when inside.
ReplyDeletePat it is wonderful to see you here! I am new at growing Amaryllis and with our snowy weather it is sure nice to have flowers in the house.
DeleteBonnie, it was fun seeing your Amaryllis grow--I need to google this as I've got no idea what it is! As for the cold, it's the same here in Pittsburgh. The Steelers were supposed to play the Buffalo Bills yesterday but the Bills actually delayed it because of the cold snap. You don't see that very often! PS Love your dining chairs :^)
ReplyDeleteThis is the first Amaryllis I have had Doug and it sure has been fun watching it grow so quickly. The weather has been difficult for the football games hasn't it! Tom is just now watching the start of your Steelers game.
DeleteWe've had that table and chair set for twenty years but it's held up well. I like the "wheatback" style of the chairs too. Thanks Doug!
I love amaryllis and you have reminded me how lovely they are. I must remember to pick one up for the Holidays next year. I don't think there are any left in the stores now.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the KC win!
I'm surprised I've never had one before. It was a great gift from my kids. Thanks for the congrats, I'm not really a sports fan except for the Chiefs. You can't live in Chiefs Kingdom as they call it without being a fan!
DeleteJust look at that beauty. I really loved your pictures of the growing time.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Jackie it has been fun tracking the growth and it sure has brightened up these cold days! Stay warm!
DeleteI've never had an Amaryllis, either. Yours is just gorgeous! Love that splash of red in the winter, too. :)
ReplyDeleteWith all this snow and cold weather the Amaryllis has sure been a welcome distraction! I know you are much colder than we are here so stay warm and cuddle with Miss Allie!
DeleteBeautiful Amaryllis! I hope ours are as pretty. Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your Amaryllis bloom. I've never seen any like yours and I'm sure they will be gorgeous! You all stay warm as well. This winter is paying us back for the mild ones we had earlier!
DeleteAmaryllis bulbs are miraculous. I wonder if you will tend another one next Christmastime... or maybe the same bulb again?
ReplyDeleteThis has been a bright spot in a very cold and snowy winter! I will try this one out again next Christmas and see what happens.
Deletei have had amerillis to bloom over and over again for 20+ yrs. the trick is to treat them like any other houseplant, water and fretilize heavily for the rest of the winter. hopefully you can get the bulb to increase in size. next summer, if possible set pot outside, give fresh, rich potting soil. in late summer, or when the leaves turn yellow, cut off the leaves, put pot/bulb in cool dry place. cellar if you got 1, for about 4-8 weeks. then bring into lighted place and fertilise heavily, the larger the bulb, the more blooms you will get. the scond yr, the leaves will come up firts, the blooms
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie, Just checking it on you, I do hope you are ok.
ReplyDeleteConnie, how wonderful to hear from you! For the most part I am doing ok, just dealing with the usual side effects of age. Tom is not doing any better and I stay busy helping him out. Obviously, I have not managed to keep up with blogging as I just don't seem to be very good at time management these days! I'm going to try and do a post soon just to say Hi! to everyone. Thank you so much for thinking of me. I hope you and Far Guy are doing well!
ReplyDelete