Amaryllis 'Limona'

I love green flowers, and I covet green Amaryllis blooms in particular. As you may be able to deduce by the name, Amaryllis 'Limona' is a green flowering bulb. The blooms emerge a lovely green with hint of yellow and white.  As the flowers mature they develop a pinkish red blush to them.

Like so many other Amarylllis blooms, 'Limona' has a green eye (center) and the green color lightens as it reaches the ends of the petals. As the flowers get older, the yellow hue gives way to a deeper green color and the blush, which is barely visible, develops into a rust color that accentuates the veining of the blooms.

I took pictures of 'Limona' when it was still green, but I'm showing these because I think the rusty color make the flowers look more dramatic. This Amaryllis bulbs was actually pretty large. I'd say the bulb was about 12-15 inches in circumference. The bulb produced two scapes (stems) reaching 18 inches tall from the neck of the bulb, and produced eight flowers. Each of the flowers were 6.5-7 inches across.

An internet research informs me the bulb is suppose to be fragrant, but I didn't notice any scent other than the "fresh" smell of greenery. Some of the earliest photos online for this hybrid Amaryllis date back to 2006, and it seems at the time that Amaryllis enthusiasts were not too happy with the color. The bloom was introduce/distributed by a now defunct Dutch company called Lagenveld Bulb Co.

This bulb came to me for free courtesy of Longfield Gardens, as part of a series of Amaryllis bulbs they sent me to grow and review. Larger than 'Lemon Lime' (both in terms of bulb and flower size) 'Limona' is a pretty and interesting Amaryllis to grow--provided you don't mind the red blush, which I don't.

If you're looking for more pictures and Amaryllis growing tips, click the Amaryllis label here to see older posts on cultivating  these easy-to-grow indoor bulbs.