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Wednesday, November 1, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
PHOTO BY KATHY KNORR
Sensational amaryllis bring beauty to gray winter days and are easy to
grow.
Give amaryllis a little
push for indoor bloom
By Kym Pokorny
Oregon State University Extension Service
CORVALLIS — The big,
beautiful blooms of amaryllis
are a wintertime tradition and
persuading them to flower
couldn’t be easier.
Native to Peru and South
Africa, the genus Amaryllis
comes from the Greek word
amarysso, which means “to
sparkle.” Some botanists
believe bulbs were brought
to Europe in the early 16th
century and arrived in Europe
in the 1800s, later moving on
the U.S.
The trumpet-shaped
blooms in red, pink, salmon,
white and multi-colored form
atop tall stems that grow
rapidly from these large lily
bulbs. Strappy foliage accom-
panies or follows the flowers.
Brooke Edmunds, a hor-
ticulturist with Oregon State
University Extension Service,
has advice on coaxing an
amaryllis from bulb to flower,
an easy proposition from start
to finish.
This time of year, bulbs are
commonly available already
potted and growing, in kits, or
as bare bulbs. Choose bulbs
with bright green new growth
and without spots or visible
damage, she said. Some bulbs
may have an offshoot grow-
ing from the base. This will
eventually grow into a new
bulb and can be removed and
planted separately.
If you are starting with a
bare bulb, find a heavy well-
draining pot (lightweight pots
will fall over) about 1 inch
bigger in diameter than your
bulb. Fill the pot two-thirds
full with rich, porous soil,
preferably with some peat
moss and compost. Plant the
bulb, keeping the upper one-
third of the bulb exposed.
Water sparingly until growth
appears. Keep the plant above
60 degrees in a sunny area of
the house.
New growth will appear
a few weeks after planting.
When a green shoot emerges,
the plants will grow rapidly
if watered freely. When the
pot becomes filled with roots,
apply a dilute, complete liq-
uid fertilizer once a month.
The stalk will grow toward
the sun or light source, so
rotate the pot and stake the
stem if it grows more than 20
inches tall. Keep your plant
away from heat sources such
as furnace vents and wood
stoves.
In five to eight weeks after
planting, the amaryllis will
bloom. Plan for blooms dur-
ing a particular time by count-
ing back the weeks and plant-
ing your bulbs accordingly,
Edmunds said.
To keep the bulb healthy
for many years, keep the plant
growing once it has bloomed.
Cut off spent flowering stems
and continue to water and
fertilize it through the winter
and spring. In summer, place
the potted plant outdoors
and continue to water and
fertilize.
In October, stop water-
ing to allow the pot to dry
out. The foliage will gradu-
ally turn yellow. Cut off the
leaves to within two inches
of the soil line. Leave the pot
undisturbed. Water only if the
bulb begins to shrivel. New
growth should appear from
the top of the bulb. Then fol-
low the instructions above
from the start.
Refrain from repotting
your bulb every year, as the
plant seems to bloom better
when pot-bound. Some grow-
ers repot about every three to
four years, or add new fertile
soil to the top one-third of the
pot each year.
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