Did you know your amaryllis can bloom two times a year? Spring-started amaryllis can bloom all summer and then again indoors in winter if you start with the biggest bulb you can buy.
Plant the bulb, water once and place it in a sunny spot. Once you see green, start watering and fertilizing. You'll get several bloom stalks, each lasting a week or two. As flowers fade, pinch off spent blossoms and remove their stalks. After the blooms are gone, let the foliage grow for eight weeks. Then place the pot in a cool dark place for another eight weeks and tip it on its side as a reminder not to water. Bring the pot into the light, water well and repeat the previous steps. The flowers will probably be smaller than they were the first time they bloomed.
Pushing an amaryllis to rebloom takes its toll. Your bulb will probably get smaller each time, ending up as mostly just a papery husk that you will throw away, but by following these steps, you can get several flushes of booms over a couple of years from one bulb. Who wouldn't want that?
Shirley Watson, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Annual & Perennial Flowers Index
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