Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs

Have you seen a waxed Amaryllis bulb before? I hadn't until last month when Jackson & Perkins contacted me and asked to send me something in the mail. When the box arrived I was surprised to find this indoor garden bulb. But I was even more surprised that the bulb was coated in wax.

After placing the bulb in a bright and warm location, the bulb sent out a scape and then showed signs of another emerging scape. Like a normal Amaryllis bulb the scape kept growing until it unfurled and the flower we are all familiar with, and associate with Christmas houseplants, appeared.

My bulb was waxed and painted silver, but on the Jackson & Perkins website you can see that they come in a lot of other decorative colors.

Caring for a waxed Amaryllis bulb

Do you have to plant a waxed Amaryllis? No. As you'll see at the website, the bulbs are held in decorative saucers. The bulbs are waxed so planting them in soil would not result in them sending out roots.

How do you water a waxed Amaryllis?

You don't water these bulbs. Unlike tulips and paperwhites that you may force indoors this time of year, this bulb doesn't require watering. Amaryllis bulbs that you buy have all of the energy they need to bloom one time stored in the bulb. It will bloom even if you don't water it. But because the roots have been removed and the basal plate waxed, there are no roots to absorb water.

After blooming Amaryllis care.

When your waxed bulb has finished blooming, you're suppose to toss it. That's right. It is considered a disposable plant, and requires not further care after it has finished blooming for you.

If you look at the Amaryllis label on my blog, you'll find instructions and tips for caring for a normal Amaryllis bulb. In particular, you should look at the post on pollinating and collecting seeds from your Amaryllis because it is a fun winter and indoor gardening project any gardener can do.

Have you seen these Amaryllis bulbs? Would you treat an Amaryllis like an annual that you can toss? Leave a comment below and you'll be entered into a random drawing for a gift card from Jackson & Perkins.

Caring for Daffodils After Blooming

Along with crocus bulbs, daffodils are some of the easiest garden bulbs you can plant in your garden for a showy display of blooms every spring. From my experience in the garden caring for daffodils after blooming is not unlike caring for tulips after they are done blooming, with one exception: The foliage. Daffodil foliage can be a pain to deal with--especially if you have a small garden.

Transplanting Oriental Lily Bulbs

A few years ago I planted two bags of Oriental lily bulbs in my garden after I found the bulbs on sale and couldn't pass up a discount. Over two years the bulbs established themselves, grew taller and produced more blooms per stem. One evening while the clumps where at their peak a stranger walking past the garden stopped and asked me what I had sprayed in the garden to get it to smell so good. Then a day later a family member asked me the same question. Both of them where referring to the scent emanating from the lily blooms that is downright enchanting on a humid summer day. When another family member asked me to help start a garden the first plant I thought to share where some of my Oriental lilies. So I set about transplanting Oriental lily bulbs from my garden to this new garden.

 

Tulip Viruses

During the 17th century the Netherlands were taken over by what is called "Tulip mania." Shortly after being introduced tulips became a symbol of status and a way to showcase wealth publicly. Semper Augustus, with its red and white streaked petals, is famously remembered as being the most expensive tulip sold during the "Tulip mania." At the time it wasn't known that the spectacular colors in the petals of tulips were caused by a tulip virus. Tulip breaking virus was carried by the green peach aphid and while the virus caused beautiful flowers, it also caused weak bulbs that died slowly. Anna Pavord, author of Bulb, tells us of similar speculative bubble happening in England with snowdrops today. Not quite to the extent of "Tulip mania" but it is interesting to see that we're all more than happy to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Pineapple Lily Bulbs

Since the weather in Chicago was cooperating today I was doing some work in the garden. Mostly I was cleaning up some dead plants and pulling up my tender bulbs for winter storage. I checked on my Pineapple Lily bulbs to see how they were drying and realized that Pineapple Lily bulbs are really ugly. These ugly bulbs don't do the Pineapple Lily flower and seed pods justice. With such pretty flowers I'd expect Pineapple Lilies to have equally attractive bulbs but I guess a nice and fuzzy sheath like a Crocus corm or a shiny and papery skin like a Tulip is too much to ask for.

Peruvian daffodil

Hymenocallis narcissiflora commonly called Peruvian daffodil or Spider Flower has intricately designed flowers and fragrance. This bulb is native to South America and Africa and hardy only to zones 8-10 in the US. This is my second year growing these bulbs and I have yet to experience the fragrance that I read so much about. Last year the bulbs bloomed at six inches but this year the stalks grew to two feet before it started to bloom. The first year I had them there were only two blooms per stalk but this year each stalk produced between four and five blooms.
 

Caring For Your Amaryllis

I've been noticing a lot of searches leading people to my blog looking for information on how to care for their Amaryllis bulbs. Based on the nature of the queries that lead to my blog I'll try to answer them from my experience growing these since last year.


I purchased a few Amaryllis bulbs last year from Target after the Holidays. Because of the discounts they were less than two dollars a piece. The bulbs didn't look so great and it was to be expected after sitting in those boxes on a shelf for weeks and who knows how long they were in them sitting in a warehouse. When you bring your Amaryllis home take it out of the box and discard the soil disc it comes in. If the pot it came with doesn't have drainage holes make some or find a suitable pot. Good drainage is key to healthy houseplants. The next step is to plant it in good soil, I added charcoal and Perlite to the regular potting soil I use.

"Why won't my Amaryllis grow?"