For some reason, I had always been intimidated by amaryllis and had never planted them before. After seeing Pam's beautiful amaryllis in bloom last December, I knew I had to give these a try. I purchased three bulbs, planted them all at the same time, following the timely and wonderful planting directions given by Mr. Brown Thumb. Here are the results so far:
One of the amaryllis has just bloomed.
I sat the flower pot on the floor for the picture and, of course, curious kitty had to come and check things out.
Another is about to bloom and the third one is a complete dud with no chance of blooming.
I love these gorgeous blooms and can't believe I waited so long to grow them.
I played around with the color a little on this picture by lowering the saturation level.
I saw the Cooper's hawk in the backyard by the bird feeder again and got this shot through the window. I've seen quite a few of them sitting in the tops of the trees recently as I've been running errands.
12 comments:
Your amaryllis is a beauty. All 3 of my amaryllis were duds this year. I blame it on cheap bulbs. I'm going to let them grow on a bit, then put them outside this summer to see what they do.
I do finally have some paperwhites blooming, but they will probably be done by the 15th. Oh, what to show for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in January?!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
I'm glad they bloomed so beautifully for you, at least most of them. That red one that you linked to was the first one I'd ever tried. I grew another one this year and was just as delighted. Seems like a nice Xmas tradition.
Beautiful shot of the Cooper's Hawk through a window! I love seeing them in their rare appearances in the yard--although they do scatter all the other little birds for a while.
--Robin (Bumblebee)
I don't grow Amaryllis anymore because they are so topheavy, they always toppled over & got ruined. Yours is beautiful.
Wonderful amaryllis photos. I've always wanted to try growing those.
I got some shots of a Cooper Hawk eating his lunch the other day. I posted one on my blog. Beautiful birds!!
Ginni
You posted a wonderful picture of the Coopers Hawk. I see them quite often along the shoreline of Lake Ontario.
cheers from Canada
What luck with those beautiful amaryllis! Even better luck with the Hawk. :)
Your kitty looks like it's about to pounce! I was never able to have plants in the house when cats lived with us.
Your amaryllis are so pretty!
Cooper's Hawk looks so businesslike.
The Amaryllis is just beautiful! It's such a thrill to have things blooming this time of year! I love your bird and blooms blog...you are a girl after my own heart!
LOL, of course curious kitty had to come to check things out. I mean, where would we be without or feline supervisors? ;-)
I'm curious to see the bloom on blub number 3, a pity that number 2 is showing no buds so far.
Great shot of the Hawk!
You KNOW I love amaryllis, but wow......that Cooper's Hawk is GORGEOUS! I'd love to see one of those! Wonderful photo of him!
Amaryllis can be easy to grow or they can present problems. Buying quality bulbs is one of the best ways to avoid most problems. Not that I listen to what I preach as I usually get mine at the "box" stores, but only when they have first arrived.
Be sure to keep your bulbs watered and fertilized as they are both heavy "drinkers" and feeders. I put mine outside in June, once the night temps are consistently above 50. I try to chose a shaded area, but with some early morning or late evening sun and I keep them fed and well watered until the end of August, at which time I stop feeding and reduce the amount of water. I don't want to take up your blog space so will stop at that point. Getting them to rebloom can be a challenge, but so rewarding.
I have 3 year old bulbs I have grown from my own cross that are coming into bud just now and THAT is really an exciting way to increase one's collection and get something no one else has. I did have 2 advantageous youngsters give me their first blooms last winter and a most rewarding sight they were! Luckily they were both different colors too. It's going to be another month or so before any of the "babies" bloom this year.
I am not new to hybridizing, as I breed daylilies, but working with amaryllis (Hippeastrums) is different and rewarding as well and takes care of what to do in winter when the outside is sleeping away the cold winter months.
Hope you will check out my Blogger Profile, perhaps we can get in touch that way.
Have you every tried growing daylilies from seeds? I'm talking real daylilies, not the Ditch Lilies or the little yellow and gold ones seen in mass plantings everywhere! (Love them too!)
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