Nothing about quilts today, it's about flowers which are brightening up my day during this cold weather.
I have a lot of Amaryllis bulbs and this winter has been the best ever for their blooms. I've already shown you several that were blooming earlier, here are the ones that are in bloom now.
There are several more pots to bloom in the coming weeks. These flowers make me very happy.
Some people have a problem with the plants tipping over because they become top heavy when blooming. I solved this problem by picking up small stones in the summer. You want stones a little smaller than your fist. I washed them, let them dry then set them in a small pail downstairs in the cellar. When I potted the bulbs last November, I put a stone in the bottom of each pot before adding the soil. That took care of that problem.
I also have a Christmas(?) cactus that bloomed last October then again the end of January. I like plants that bloom in the winter.
Linking to Peacock Party, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday
18 comments:
I am glad you shared your success with winter blooming flowers like the Christmas cactus and the amaryllis!!! Our is thinking of blooming! And after the shock of moving in wintertime weather the Christmas cactus just had 1 bloom in January but I bet this next winter all will be on track! I love seeing all your amaryllis blooms today!! 💕
Kathi
I hadn't thought to weigh the pot down under the bulb - I will need to remember that for next year, only 2 of the 5 bulbs I have have flowered
So pretty!! Do you plant the outside when warmer then bringing them in fall? I’m far enough south that they just stay in the ground year around.
I plant them directly into the flowerbed in May when the chance of frost is past. I normally leave them in the ground until it frosts but I changed things up last fall. I decided to clean up the flowerbed the first part of October and dug them up then. I washed the bulbs then let them dry in the garage. I potted them the first of November and they started blooming in January, right when I needed them! I'll try the same thing this coming fall and hopefully I'll get the same results.
How neat you can leave them in the ground year round. When do they bloom and do they bloom more than once?
Your Amaryllis are wonderful as is the embroidered pannel on the wall.
I am a fan of Amaryllises, too! This year I got no blooms. So next year I will buy new bulbs. My Christmas cacti bloomed prolifically! The blooms during the gloom of winter are a welcome sight!
My amaryllis just started opening too. Christmas blooming for Valentine's Day. And my Thanksgiving cactus (red-orange) just finished a second bloom. I'm an ol' flower picker from way back and I do love my blooming flowers.
I was struck by how nicely the blue and white quilt with delicately embroidered flowers let the amaryllis shine.
Thanks for the tip about planting the bulbs in your garden. What about the leaves .... do you cut them off at some point?
When I'm ready to transplant the bulbs into the flowerbed, I trim them to 6" - 8". When they're long they're really floppy. Plant the bulb into the flowerbed then give it a good drink. Keep it watered until you get natural rain then forget about them until fall, unless you have a drought. Then you might want to water them occasionally.
Last wanter very few of my Amaryllis bloomed. Unless they haven't bloomed for several years, I'd give them another chance.
If you type in Grandma's Embroidered Blocks in the 'Search this Blog' space, the post about the embroidered blocks will pull up.
They are gorgeous Gretchen, something I've never grown. I believe we know them as Hippeastrum here and I may just have to look into getting some bulbs!
Your Amaryllis are beautiful. I bought a couple at the supermarket for a pittance and they were magnificent. So I ordered some from a big name nursery with three in a pot. Red and white striped. They were fabulous in the catalog. I ordered one for myself and one for my son who lives far away. This was way before Christmas. They still have not bloomed and it looks like only one out of the three in my pot are going to bloom at all. I was most unhappy. I contacted them and they are giving me store credit. I wanted a refund.
At your home you could probably grow them outside all year round, the bulbs can handle light frost. You don't get deep freeze in the winter do you?
That is disappointing about your bulbs. My bulbs have originally came from Lowe's or maybe a green house when I was there. I have learned that the bulb isn't always the same as the picture on the box. Keep your bulbs growing this winter, plant them outside in the summer then pull them in the fall. Let the bulbs dry then plant in November. Water them with some fertilizer in the water then hopefully you'll have beautiful flowers next winter.
I can believe they are a treat to see at this time of year, my bulbs don’t start blooming until the middle of April ,then put on a lovely display . They only bloom once but the leaves look nice all summer. I have to dig them up every few years as they can become impacted with all the new bulbs growing .
Gorgeous! My mom always had an amaryllis, and I miss them!
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