The King of Bulbs - Growing Amaryllis bulb.
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
Last spring I tested growing bulbs vertically with good success. So, of course it seemed reasonable to go from daffodils to the king of bulbs, Amaryllis.
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Hailing from the Andes Mountains of Chile, Peru and Bolivia, this flower has reached Europe in 18th century where over the next 226 years it has been hybridised to the king of bulbs we know today. It has graced the glass houses of many a green fingered aristocrat, just like tulips, but without all the madness of a financial crush.
Overall the history is a little patchy, but I would also imagine not that complicated. Like everything driven by the restlessness and curiosity of human kind, human saw, human liked, human took and created over 1000 hybrids.
Amaryllis bulbs growing guide.
I planted ‘Red Lion’ variety. In nature, amaryllis bloom in spring or summer, but are commonly forced into an early bloom.
Amaryllis prefers a well drained potting mix, which is why I used coconut coir with added house plant soil. A complementary mix of aeration and feed for the bulb. |  |
The coir comes in handy sheets, approximately A4 size, which snap easily when dry. Stack them in the pot and add lukewarm water. Add a little bit at a time until the whole stack crumbles.
Meanwhile, remove any overly damaged, or deeply shrivelled roots. Then pop your bulb on a shallow dish to start hydrating. Do not immerse the whole bulb.
When your coir crumbles, add the soil and mix both together. You want a 50/50 mix.
Place your bulb so that the crown proudly sticks out. Now the bulb prefers to be cosily pot bound. So this is your time to be firm with the soil. Firm the soil down all around. If you planting in a Horticus pot, then keep filling it until the soil reaches the ridge.
Finish off with a layer of moss and give it a water. Et voila!
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) Care
Soil: Free draining, use a 50/50mix of houseplant compost and coconut coir. The bulb likes to be snuggly so make sure the soil is filled in well.
Light: Pick a bright spot, round 2000-3000 LUX. I recommend downloading Light Meter LM-3000.(I have no affiliations). The app has a free version and I found it to be the most fuss free light meter to use. Just make sure you set your app to sun setting and turn off any artificial lights before measuring.
Watering: Water once a week, about 200ml of water, based on a 6L Horticus pot. On the whole Amaryllis likes to dry out between each watering. Avoid pouring water over the bulb. You don't want the water to seep between layers of the bulb. During dormancy water once a month, about 100ml.
After flowering: Cut the stem 1inch (20mm) above the crown of the bulb. Turn the cut stem upside down, as sometimes there is trapped, sap like moisture, that can cause a stain on fabric surfaces. Do not cut the leaves, they will feed your bulb.
Feed: Use houseplant food, every 2 weeks from May-August. Make the mix as per instruction and then use 200ml of it. This is to make sure the fertiliser is the right level of concentration.
Dormancy: From September stop feeding and start reducing water amount by 10% each week for 4 weeks, this will start promoting dormancy for the bulb. Cut off any yellowing and green leaves within 1 inch (20mm) of the top and move your pot to the coolest and darkest part in the house. Any part of the house you don't heat is great. If you have balcony even better.
Flowering again: Bring your pots back inside and place them in their original spot in December. Begin watering like before, once a week, about 200ml.
Additional sources:
"All About Amaryllis" by Richard Jauron and Aaron Steil
"Amaryllis" by Starr Ockenga
Welcome to The Plant Notebook
My name is Anna and I'm a maker with an interest in plants. I run Horticus from my pottery studio in Leicester where I make my living wall kits, write about indoor gardening and dabble in fun experiments.
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