How to Care for Amaryllis

Will you have amaryllis bulbs this Christmas? How do you do amaryllis plant care once it stops blooming? Many people cultivate amaryllis bulbs for plants that bloom in winter. Amaryllis flowers are usually hybrids of various species within the Hippeastrum genus, a group of tropical plants originating from Central and South America.

There is also an Amaryllis genus, which has two species native to South Africa. However, these are not the common amaryllis species grown in the U.S.

Check out our guide to caring for amaryllis and what to do when the flowers fall off.

Planting, Selecting, And Caring For Bulbs

Amaryllis bulbs are available in a variety of sizes. When you purchase a bare bulb for planting or bulbs to plant in pots, the bulbs’ shape and size can affect the amaryllis’ performance.

The Process Of Selecting Bulbs

👍🏽 Choose the biggest bulb available for the plant you want to grow because it will yield more blooms and stalks within the first year.

👍🏽 Bulbs must be dry, firm, and free from any decay, mold, or damage.

👍🏽 Observing new growth (leaf buds) sprouting from bare or cultivated bulbs is normal.

👍🏽 Pick vibrant green bulbs with new growth and free of visible damage or spots.

👍🏽 Some bulbs can grow offshoot at the base. This offshoot will become a bulb and can be removed and planted independently.

Planting

Amaryllis thrives perfectly in narrow containers, which could be made from ceramic, plastic, or Terracotta.

• Bulbs must be dry, firm, and free of evidence of decay, mold, or damage.
• Choose a container with at least one or two holes in the bottom and that drains easily.
• Proper drainage can reduce the possibility of bulb root Rot (rotting due to excessive humidity).
• To give adequate space for root development, the pot’s diameter should be 1 inch larger than the broadest part of the bulb and twice as tall as the bulb.
• Fill the pot half-full with sterile new potting soil high in organic matter, such as peat moss.
• Place the bulb into the pot to rest on the potting soil.
• The bulb must be placed over the edges of the container.
• Incorporate more soil, rubbing it around the bulb until about one-third to one-half of it is still visible.
• Make sure the potting medium is firm over the bulb.
• Place the pot in a sink so it can drain freely, and then water it until the soil is completely wet. Let it drain completely.
• Place the dish in a bowl and put it in a sunny window.

Care For Bulbs

• It is recommended that the plant be watered whenever the two inches of soil is dry. The container should drain easily every time.
• Do not allow the plant to remain in water. Wet soil can cause root and bulb rot and attract insects.
• Fertilize amaryllis once a week. When you notice new growth (including purchased bulbs), apply water at half the recommended strength.
• To encourage blooming, use an organic fertilizer for your houseplants with large phosphorus material.
  • Fertilizer packaging will always provide an analysis in three numbers, such as 10-20-15.
  • These numbers are the proportions of each of three crucial macronutrients for plant growth (N (nitrogen)—P (phosphorous) (phosphorous)—K (potassium).
  • In this case the fertilizer has 10 percent nitrogen with 20 percent phosphorus and 15 % potassium.
• Take the plant out of direct sunlight after the flower buds are beginning to begin to open.

After-Flowering Care

The key to ensuring that amaryllis thrives for long periods is to keep the plant active after they’ve stopped blooming.

• When the flowers have faded, remove them to stop the seed from forming. Seeds will deplete energy reserves within the bulb, causing it to stop blooming.
• Do not cut off the flower stem until it is yellow.
• A green plant will continue to stimulate photosynthesis, which produces energy stored within bulbs for future growth of leaves and blooms.
• If the plant does not produce a flowering stalk during the next bloom period, the bulb might not be storing sufficient nutrients in the post-blooming period.
• The plant’s maintenance to keep it healthy as it grows will encourage flowering.
• Once your plant is done flowering, put it in a sunny spot outside. The plant will continue to grow long, sleek leaves, which help with photosynthesis.
• Keep watering and fertilizing the plant frequently with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer.

Transfer Plants Outside

Maintaining the plant healthy and growing through the season will encourage blooming later in the year.

1. If the risk of frost has passed spring, begin to acclimate the plant to the outside by putting it in shade or indirect sunlight.
2. Gradually shift the container to an area or garden bed that will receive full sunlight for at least six hours a day.
3. Choose a sunny spot on a patio or deck for the potted amaryllis, or just put the entire pot in the soil of a sunny area.
4. It is not necessary to take the amaryllis out of the pot.
5. Keep fertilizing your plants monthly using an all-purpose indoor or outdoor fertilizer. This will help build up the nutrients inside the bulbs for flowering next year.
6. Amaryllis plants must be moved indoors before the first frost of the fall.
7. They cannot withstand the cold or frosty temperatures.

Control The Blooming

Unlike other bulbs, Amaryllis does not need an extended dormancy or rest period. When allowed to continue to expand, they can bloom again.

However, blooming time is controlled by letting the bulb enter a state of dormancy (stop growth) for some time. During this rest period (dormancy), plants use less energy reserves.

• When you bring the amaryllis pot inside, store the potted plant in an air-conditioned, dark, and dry location, such as a basement closet.
• It should stay in the range of 50-60 degrees.
• Let the leaves turn brown and dry before taking them down.
• Place the bulb in a dark place for 8-12 weeks. Avoid watering during this period.
• Examine the bulb regularly for mildew or mold. If you find it, treat it using a fungicide or remove it.
• If you notice new growth at this time, take the bulb in the pot from the dark place and replace it with a bright window. Cut off dead leaves. Apply fertilizer and water as described above in after-flowering maintenance.
• If new growth is not seen after 8 to 12 weeks, remove the bulb from the darkness and put it in a bright spot.
• The fertilizer and water requirements are as stated in the section titled After-flowering care.
  • This process can force the plant to flower if that bulb has enough energy to create the flower stalk.
  • Typically, one or more flower stalks appear first. However, leaves may follow them.
• The blooms usually appear in four to six weeks following dormant bulbs.
• Blooming may be scheduled around particular holidays or events.

Repotting Amaryllis

Amaryllis plants bloom best in containers with a little additional area (pot-bound). They need to be repotted every three or four years. It is the perfect time to do this when they have completed an inactive period.

Caring for Amaryllis Indoors in Spring and Summer

To bring your care for amaryllis indoors, fill a pot with well-drained pots and potting mixes. Then, place the bulb so that the top 1/3 of it is visible when you fill the remainder of your pot with the potting mix. The bulbs must be planted between 10 and 12 weeks before when you wish them to flower.

Put a bamboo stake next to the bulb. The flowers may become top-heavy, so putting the stake in during the planting will ensure you don’t damage the bulb and its roots later.

A large flower stalk will sprout within a couple of weeks of planting the plant. As the flower stalk grows, leaves with flat sides will appear. Rotate the pot every couple of days so that the flower stalk gets equal sunlight exposure from all sides and becomes straight.

Amaryllis Care Indoors in Fall and Winter

Many people buy and do amaryllis bulb care in the fall to ensure they bloom during the winter holiday season. If you plan to do this, you can follow the same setup instructions for Spring planting.

Follow specific amaryllis-specific steps following flowering to stimulate those winter blooms to come back.

When your amaryllis is blooming, cut off the stalk but let the foliage grow. If you’d like, you can place the plant outdoors during summer in a shaded area. Watering your amaryllis when the top 2 inches of soil are dry is important. Feed it a half-strength water-soluble fertilizer at two—and three-week intervals.

Stop feeding in August and bring the plant inside. The foliage is likely to degrade. However, the plant shouldn’t expose itself to freezing. Reduce the size of any degraded amaryllis leaves. Now is the time to expose your plant to darkness.

Place it in an unheated (55 to 60 °) dry, indoor space that isn’t exposed to sunlight. Also, you should stop watering it at this point or up to 12 weeks before the date you’d like it to flower (if you’re planning to bloom in the winter season).

The absence of foliage and water can cause the amaryllis plant to produce another stalk of flowers. 

Restart watering now, and move the plant to a warmer, sunny indoor space. New leaves will emerge, and flowers will appear. After the flowers have bloomed, stop the feeding for up to ten weeks to bring about the state of dormancy required to restore the bulbs.

Tips for Growing Amaryllis Indoors

Remove your amaryllis from drafty windows and doors, forced-air radiators, and heating vents to keep them warm in the winter—the plants like temperatures between 15.5 and 21 degrees Celsius.

To accelerate blooming, you can add fertilizer designed for indoor plant life.

After the stem is established and turned, rotate the pot every couple of days to prevent it from leaning in the other direction. If it continues to lean, add a stake. After the flowers bloom, you can ensure they last by moving the vase to a cooler location with diffused lighting.

Once your amaryllis is dying, you can simply cut the stem close to the neck of the flower. Take amaryllis care not to hurt the leaves or new flower stalks. The amaryllis leaves will replenish the bulb and allow it to bloom again next year.

Water the plant so the soil remains moist and feeding it regularly for 7-14 days is important. Make sure your plant is in the most sunny spot in your home so that photosynthesis continues and builds the energy for larger blooms in the future.

How to Grow Amaryllis Outdoors in the Summer

Most Canadian conditions are just too frigid to cultivate these plants successfully outside. However, you can transfer your indoor plants into the backyard for the summer when temperatures rise over 10 degrees at night.

Amaryllises like sunlight, so set them in a bright spot. To prevent root rot, choose well-drained soil, like compost and sandy soil agglomeration. Just as you would for indoor gardening, leave the upper third of the bulb over the soil.

Are you looking to simplify it? A few gardeners place the amaryllis in an indoor container and put everything in the soil.

Water and feed the plant frequently. It’s storing energy now to make more flowers in the future. Well-fed, healthy bulbs result in larger flower stems and more blossoms on each stem.

Bring your amaryllis indoors in the summer months before the first frost.

Caring for Your Amaryllis After It Blooms

After your plant has bloomed, you must take a few steps to ensure it continues to bloom every year.

• When the flower buds have bloomed, opened, and faded, it’s time to cut the stem. Use a sharp knife to cut the stalk until it’s approximately 6 inches over the bulb. Be sure to keep the leaves on. As they grow, the leaves are required to feed your plant via photosynthesis.
• As the weather gets warmer, move your amaryllis, which is still in pots, to a location that will expose it to filtered sunlight.
• Keep your flowers watered regularly from now until September.
• Bring your amaryllis pot inside, trim all the leaves, and then store it in an icy (not freezing) dark area (closet or basement), where it will remain still for many months.
• In December, you can bring your pot in the sunlight and add water to it.
• Keep the soil moist and place it in a bright window to start the process again!
• Make sure to rotate the pot regularly, as mentioned above.

Are Pests And Diseases a Threat To Amaryllis?

The indoor gardener doesn’t usually worry about pests that could harm their amaryllis plant. However, bulbs damaged in the greenhouse or moved outside for the summer can cause problems.

The most common cause is the narcissus bulb fly, which lays eggs in the bulb, transforming into larvae that consume the bulb. If this happens, the only feature is to eliminate the bulb.

Overwatering poses the greatest threat to amaryllis. However, red blotch disease may also cause destruction. The fungal disease causes unusually shaped plants and leaves but can be treated with a fortifying fungicide.

Examine the bulbs before purchasing them to prevent diseases and pests from infecting your amaryllis. Plant the bulbs in clean pots and use fresh potter’s soil.

FAQS

Does Amaryllis Come Back Every Year?

One amaryllis bulb can rebloom each year for many years. However, it must be properly treated to stay healthy and store plenty of energy. The amaryllis gathers energy via photosynthesis and stores sugars from plants inside the bulb.

When Should I Put Amaryllis In The Dark?

The flowers, leaves, and stems are likely to lose their color. After they’ve turned yellow, remove them and relocate the plant to a cool and dark area with temperatures of 55-60 degrees. The bulb should have at least 8-10 weeks of relaxation. After resting, relocate it to a warm, sunny location and water it thoroughly.

What Does Amaryllis Mean?

These beautiful blooms symbolize strength, pride, and determination since they stand tall above other winter flowers. Amaryllis is also a Greek name meaning “to shine.” This aligns with the holiday season when we sprinkle glitter all over everything.

What Can You Do With An Amaryllis Once It Flowers?

What do you do with amaryllis after it blooms? When you’ve ensured your amaryllis is finished flowering, keep it in a warm, sunny location. Get rid of the discolored flowers immediately to stop seeds from developing.