Amaryllis, continued

Apple Blossom amaryllis in the forefront, Minerva behind, were a cheerful sight in my dining room this January. A little neglect last fall meant I had to stake them up. 

The Minerva on its own after the Apple Blossom had finished. Notice the new leaves starting to grow out of the finished bulb. 

 I didn’t have a lot of hope for the two amaryllis bulbs I’d bought way too early last fall, then found growing misshapenly out of their paper storage bags. How do you even plant a bulb with a flower stalk growing out at side angles?

I couldn’t use them as Christmas gifts and they were too pricey to toss, so I decided to do what I could.   Planted tightly together in a heavy untippable pot and tied to stakes, might they actually straighten and blossom?

They weren’t perfect – the stems were at odd angles, the stakes ugly, and some blossoms faded fast. But all through bleak January, against a backdrop of grey torrential rain, they brightened my dining room. The Minerva bloom was perky orange and white; the Apple Blossom a sigh of spring-like pink.

But the story doesn’t end there. Those maltreated bulbs seem to have a lot of oomph, with new green leaves springing up even before the blossoms were done. An amaryllis amateur, I didn’t know what that was about. But apparently they’re packing in nutrition to feed next year’s blooms. They’ll die down in the fall and rest awhile before putting out new flower stalks. Next year, I won’t be forgetting them in paper bags.

The sad result of neglecting bulbs too long in paper bags -- they start growing anyway, but badly.

Now both bulbs are putting out vigorous leaves, preparing for next year's show.

Here's what I look forward to seeing next January.