Thank you all for your comments on my Amaryllis pot- here is a photo of it at Christmas time this last year. Notice that there are just a few leaves and two of the bulbs are flowering. The bulb on the left with the red flower looks just as it would if you brought a bulb home from the store and followed the directions on the packaging. The thick flower stalk comes up from the bare bulb and any dried leaf remains would have been trimmed away at the base. At this point, the bulb can even flower when it is just in water, like a paperwhite. But, for it to bloom again, it needs to be planted in dirt. It wants to be in a pot that is just an inch larger than the bulb- but fairly deep for root development. I measured the pink striped bloom from the other day and it is 38 inches tall from the tabletop. If it were in a single pot- it would most likely tip over.
After the flower has faded, I leave the flower stem until it begins to turn brown and shrivel up. Then, I take a sharp knife and cut it off at the base. Be quick to turn the cut edge upright because its sides walls are full of water- unless you've waited until it has dried.
Throughout the year, leaves are coming and going on the plants. This leaf , just next to the flower stalk, has yellowed in just the last day or so. When it becomes too unsightly, I will just trim it off at the base. My plants are in a south facing window so they get as much light as they can. Bulbs are fairly hardy so don't give up on them. They can be ruined in a freeze and probably from sitting in water too long. But, if they put up leaves before they flower- just wait. They can go outside in the summer and if you want to force a flower for the holidays- tip the pot over in August and let it go dormant. Then, 6 weeks, or so they say, before you want the flower- pot it up in fresh soil and water it. I don't put my houseplants out in the summer so if you do- let me know how it works. Here is another of my plants that likes to pull its pot over when you aren't looking. The mother Aloe has been reaching out of the pot for several years and baby plants have squeezed in between the rocks that help to weigh down the pot. I'll let you know when it jumps.
2 comments:
The Amaryllis is a stunning colour. I wonder, do you use the aloe for burns, or do you keep it just as a plant? I have a recipe for a balm using aloe, but I would never be able to bring myself to cut the plant up!
I've used it occasionally with a little burn- cutting off just the tip or edge of a leaf and leaving the rest. I read in a blog that you could make a drink of it and both of my children broke off a piece to taste it- pretty mild. Maybe it needed alcohol.
I think that to have enough to make a balm- you'd want plants just for that purpose. Harvest those and keep another for looks. If you were closer- I'd send you enough to get you started when I re-pot mine.
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