Amarilis

Amarilis is a bulbous plant native to Africa. In our country, amarylis is grown mainly as a houseplant. This flower is amazingly beautiful. It is very often confused with hyperastrum, although these plants have many differences.

Amarilis flower: photo

What does Amarilis look like? Detailed description

Amarilis blooms in autumn, an arrow appears from the bulb with an umbrella inflorescence, on which there are from 6 to 12 flowers similar to a lily. Flowers are pink, white, red. In diameter, they reach 16-20 cm, they have 6 petals. The flowers have a pleasant aroma. Amarilis bloom can last up to 25 days. At the same time, leaves 30-50 cm long and about 3 cm wide appear from the bulb. They grow all winter and spring, and dry up in summer. There is no need to rush to remove them as soon as they are dry, they nourish the bulb.

Amarilis bulbs are quite large, they can reach 7 cm in diameter. The bulbs are pear-shaped and are only half buried in the soil. After drying, the roots of the bulbs are still alive for some time and should be watered. During the active period, Amariis needs a lot of light; during the dormant period, the bulbs are stored in a dark, dry, cool place. The dormant period at Amarilis lasts from June to August.

Amarilis flower: photo

Caring for Amarilis

The Amarilis flower is a surprisingly light-loving plant, but it does not like direct sunlight. Diffused light is preferred. During the growing season, the air temperature during the day should not fall below 20 degrees, at night it should not be below 18 degrees. Strong temperature drops Amarilis flower does not tolerate well.

Amarilis needs moderate watering as the soil dries up. You should not be too zealous with watering, otherwise the bulb may begin to rot, so drainage is necessary. You do not need to spray the leaves. During the period of active growth, amarylis can be fertilized. Organic fertilizers are not very suitable, their use can lead to spagonosporosis and other diseases. For amarylis, as well as for other bulbous plants, only mineral fertilizers can be used. You need to fertilize the flower no more than once every two weeks. One to two months before the dormant period, fertilization should be stopped.

The pot for Amarilis must be selected in such a way that there is a distance of one and a half to two centimeters between the bulb and the walls of the pot. Amarilis should be transplanted before it comes out of dormancy, somewhere in July. During planting, you need to try not to damage the roots of the flower. The bulb needs to be deepened only halfway into the soil.

Often a problem arises when the Amarilis flower does not want to bloom. There may be several reasons for this. This can be caused by too short daylight hours, poor quality soil, low room temperature, too young plant age, unsuitable size, too large a pot, lack of fertilizer. Also, Amarilis may not bloom if the dormancy period was too short.

What Amarilis looks like: a photo of a flower

Reproduction of Amarilis

Amarilis can be propagated by seeds and babies. Seed propagation is a very difficult and time-consuming process. In addition, if the plant is a varietal, when propagated by seeds, the characteristics inherent in the variety are lost. To get seeds, a plant must be artificially pollinated by collecting pollen from the pistils of one plant with a brush and moving it to the stamens of another. If everything goes well, the seeds will ripen in a month. Children can propagate a flower that has reached the age of three. This is done during the transplant.Children, as a rule, already have their own roots, if they are absent, then soon, after 1-1.5 months after planting in a separate pot, they will appear.

Amarilis: photo and video