These are 3 bulbs of Joker that were newly planted this fall. I think the time from planting to bloom was less than 3 weeks.
Susan
The Season's First Blooms
Here you can see all 3. Two of them look like they will have at least 2 stems.
This is Jade Serpent, planted at the same time as Joker. The name certainly fits it well. You can see even the buds are green. Will get more photos of it next week when it opens. I work at a hospital and the patients and staff have had fun watching them grow.
The 3 bulbs of Joker make a very dramatic presentation.
Wow,,, that was a quick bloom time. They must have been popping out of the box when you received them..lol
thanks for posting the beautiful photos! how nice of you to share the experience with others at the hospital as well as all of us...epg
Basuto, a Hadeco cultivar. Big and beautiful
Zombie, a showy Hadeco double.
Zombie: two scapes are in bloom at once, a third scape is a few days from blooming.. One negative comment about this cultivar: the blooms want to face downward.
They are each so beautiful. We have 13 various amaryllis but just with the initial green leaves so far. Of course, we are NOT in "sunny Florida", so ours are indoors.
Misty from Easy to Grow Bulbs
This message was edited Dec 14, 2010 6:27 PM
LaForest Morton from Amaryllis Bulb Company. This is a beautiful raspberry pink. I think this is exclusive to ABC.
And here is my first, at my InLaws, H. 'Black Pearl'
Black Pearl is one of my favorites. This is a new one for me this year. It's Alfresco and the bloom is very large and the stem very short.
I had 'Zombie' also. You're right - the blooms did tend to hang downward...but the color and fully double flowers still made it a worthwhile investment. I wish I had bought more bulbs! I just decided to sit mine - once in bloom - on the mantle, where you have to look up to see it.
Hadeco hippeastrum bulbs are always the best performers for me...and are primed for blooming when purchased.
I plant mine outdoors in summer and fertilize the heck out of 'em. You have to be careful they're not planted too deeply...but too shallow, and you'll find squirrels juggling them in your back yard. I dig them back up in fall, and put them in cool storage for at least 6 weeks. Coming out of cool storage, they're usually ready to bloom again, reliably, the next year. They also multiply over time...which is an added bonus...but I don't separate the offset bulbs until they are a good size themselves...
Estella from John Scheepers. Its taken me three years to get a "real" Estella.
The blooms have a trumpet form.
Estella is wonderful. It looks almost lavender. So delicate.
Beautiful. So squirrels like them? I defeated them getting my yard planting of crocus by raking compost all over the grass to build better soil and disguise the smell. How can they be defeated if planting out for summer, how deep do you plant them, I was planning on 1/3 to 1/4 still showing.
That's my problem. They rot if planted too deeply. But the squirrels dig them of they're shallow. I placed hardware cloth over them once...with holes for the escapes...and that worked well...
So I take it you made an open ended box for them, with a round hole cut on the top. What approx dimensions did you use, as squirrels are all over the place in my yard. My first two crocus plantings were eaten as a snack.
Only 2 flowers opened on this stem of Alfresco, but a second stem is about to open.
It's picture perfect!
Beautiful white flower!
Estella, a few days later.
So pretty!
I read up a lot on amaryllis today and saw some articles say to expect the flower spike first, then the leaves. Mine give me the leaves first. What am I doing wrong?
You are doing absolutely nothing wrong. Some cultivars send up leaves first and some send up flowers first. Most of the ones developed in South Africa send up flowers first.
Regarding Estella... The "almost lavender" color sounds pretty. Is Estella fragrant by any chance?
Michelle
Thank you, bsharf! None of mine send up a stalk first.
Double Delight from Royal Colors. A big bright red double.
Both scapes bloomed at once.
Sweet Nymph from Royal Colors. This is a disappointment. Its a pretty color but can't seem to make up its mind if it is a double or single.
Sweet Nymph the next day.
Estella ended up really putting on a lovely display. I didn't detect an odor with Estella. I'm the wrong person to comment on odor, since I have a poor sense of smell.
They all look good to me! Just a question - why do you cut the stems for vases? Is that the preferred thing to do?
I'm up to 8 buds this morning!
Ordered five more from Blooming Bulb's sale.
I use them as cut flowers, once most of the buds are opened, since they are extremely long lasting in water. That's just a preference of mine. I grow my Amaryllis in an unheated sunroom, closed off from the living area. This proved to be the simple solution to dealing with fungus gnats. They can live out their lives in the sunroom, but stay out the rest of my house.
Thanks.
We also have an unheated sunroom/porch (indoor) but I keep the amaryllises in the kitchen bay window where we can see them more often. No gnats.
Pasadena from Amaryllis Bulb Company
Ruby Star from Easy to Grow Bulbs
This message was edited Jan 9, 2011 6:43 AM
Ruby Star a few days later.
This message was edited Jan 9, 2011 6:44 AM
