Sunday 25 November 2012

Amaryllis hippeastrum

I was growing this beautiful red Amaryllis for Christmas but it has already flowered and finished. Another stem has rapidly grown but it is now in bud. Sadly, I think that it too will be long gone before the festive season has even begun.

54 comments:

  1. I have not planted any of my bulbs yet. I have learnt now to only plant end of january. My narcisis were blooming at christmas. Here some Amarillys are already blooming in the village .
    I believe its the climate change Rosemary.
    This year my blooms have lasted much longer.
    I am so sorry that your Amaryllis has bloomed and finished.. I have never tried to grow them. Why dont you try again.. you just might have success
    Your collage of the flower is so impresive that vibrant red.
    x

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    1. Dear Val - I think it is the central heating that has brought it on so quickly. I have another bud in the process of opening and I think that I will put it in the conservatory where it is cooler, and see if I can stop it opening too quickly. It cannot go outside as a frost might catch it.
      The red is wonderful, but difficult to photograph.
      Thanks for your visit Val.

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  2. Dear Rosemary, The same happens to me. However, for some reason the Paperwhites are taking longer than usual this year. I love pink Amaryllis and I love pink Poinsettias...only because they now make such convincing red silk imposters.
    Keep planting and keep enjoying them as they grow. For us who must put up with freezing temperatures outside, growing bulbs inside is so very rewarding.

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    1. Dear Gina- you are right about the impostors, I have seen some of those very convincing red amaryllis even down to fake peat and moss around the bulb.
      I have now placed the plant in the cooler conservatory hoping that will slow down its progress.
      I too like the pink Poinsettias and last year I bought a shocking pink one which fortunately has survived and is beginning to show its pink florets again.

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  3. May be the weather was so hot . The seasons have changed ... But this flower is so beautiful ! Do you grow up outside or inside your home ? Your collage is amazing with the red colour around photos !
    Have a nice Sunday !

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    1. Dear Olympia - for us this is an indoor bulb plant, but I think that the central heating has been too much for it. The red collage was done on picmonkey.

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  4. I've seen them in shops all over but haven't bought one yet. A few years ago I had a double white flowering one and I managed to keep it for another year. It flowered again beautifully but I couldn't keep it one more year. Now, I guess I'm waiting to find one exactly like it again but I didn't sofar. I did buy paperwhite bulbs but haven't had time to arrange them into something. Thought I'd wait long enough so they'll flower at Christmas. I'll have to hurry or they'll flower next year instead I'm afraid ;) Your pictures of the whole evolution from bud to flower are wonderful!
    Bye,
    Marian

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    1. Dear Marian - you did well to get two seasons out of your flower, they are notoriously difficult to keep going as the bulbs tend to become saggy and dry up. Paperwhites are so lovely to see after Christmas and New Year they are the little harbingers of the spring.
      Wishing you luck in finding another double white, I am sure there is one waiting for you somewhere.

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  5. it is very nice to see a flower grows!

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    1. Thank you Ioanna - lovely to hear from you.

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  6. A beautiful flower! Shame it bloomed early but your photos capture it magnificently for future enjoyment :-)

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    1. Yes, it is saved forever now, it may be dead and gone, but its image remains.

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  7. Beautiful amaryllis! So gorgeous red! It bloomed too early. At least you were able to enjoy it for a bit.

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    1. It certainly brightened up our kitchen for a while Pamela. The extra stem it has grown is about to give 3 more flowers, so I have put it somewhere much cooler in the hopes of slowing it down.

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  8. What a shame that it produced its flowers before Christmas. Your photographs of it are stunning. I have a white one that I was given at Christmas but it always seems to bloom mid summer!
    Sarah x

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    1. I am hoping that having moved the second stem into the conservatory progress will be slowed down. I would be interested to know how do you keep your bulb between the flowering period?

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  9. Dear Rosemary,
    A lovely flower. AGA often grows these but for some reason hasn't done so this year. I have shown him your example. I think it has set him thinking . . .
    Kirk
    PS
    A question for you: how do you put your blog name on your photos? I would like to do that with mine but I am 'feeble' when it comes to these sorts of things!

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    1. Dear Kirk - I think it is one of those things you do not think about unless passing by a counter with some for sale. However, now is the time to buy.
      It is easy to watermark your photos and a good precaution.
      Go to www.picmonkey.com - a free site - you may need to download adobe flash if you have not done so already.
      Go to edit a photo and download the photo from your computer.
      It is then a good idea to resize your photo to make the pixels less. In due course you will have to do this anyway as eventually blogger will ask you for some money when you have used up your allowance.
      You are in basic edits and you will see resize - resize the highest figure to 800 - 800 and less are free on blogger.
      Then click on P this will take you into text. Choose the one you want, click on it - it will go to your photo where you write what you want. When you have the writing on the photo you can change the colour, make it a different size etc. It may take a bit of trial and error but you will get very quick eventually. I can do it in no time at all as I am used to it. Save the photo to your computer in a document that you keep for blog photos. My document is called just that.
      If you have any problems let me know and I can help further.
      It sounds complicated at first.

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    2. Thanks Rosemary,
      I have bookmarked the site and will see how I go. It 'looks' as though it will be easy but then that is usually when the trouble starts!
      Kirk

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    3. Good luck - I shall watch to see if you are successful.

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  10. What a beautiful mosaic. I have never had much luck with amaryllis - perhaps I should five up trying to grow my own and just buy one already started from the florist. My Christmas cactus bloomed for the first time in many years - but in October.

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    1. Mine was already started when I bought it, but cost the same as if I was growing it myself. I am hoping that as I have put it in the cool the other flower will be delayed and might even make even hang on for Christmas.

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  11. Hello Rosemary, I would think that it is much better that it blooms now, when you can take time to enjoy its exquisite color, than in the midst of the holidays when there might only be time to barely notice it and the senses are already on overload.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. That is a very valid point Jim - I am still hoping that the other stem will be delayed by the cooler air in the conservatory, but if it flowers early I shall do as you say and take the time to enjoy it.

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  12. THey are so pretty! its a pitty the don't last longer...

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    1. I have high hopes for the other stem Demie as long as I keep it cold.

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  13. Dear Rosemary,your red Amaryllis,looks so beautiful!!I have one in my garden,but it blooms in Spring!What can i say!Its the same !!Wishing you a wonderful evening!
    Dimi..

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    1. Dear Dimi - these bulbs are just too tender for us to put them outside, I think that they would turn mushy with the frosts.

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  14. Dear Rosemary,

    What a beautiful Amaryllis it is Rosemary! I enjoy Amaryllis this time of year too. I have three stems of white Amaryliss in a vase now. The flowers are huge. Each time my eyes fall on them, they put a smile on my face :-)

    Wish you a lovely new week!

    Madelief x

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    1. They are beautiful flowers - I love their long exotic stamens and the central pistil - they feel luxurious to have in the home.

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  15. When we moved here three years ago I noticed a bulb growing at the very bottom of the garden under the magnolia tree. This year it finally bloomed and was an Amaryllis. Unfortunately, the slugs or snails got to it before I noticed it.

    I will put it in a pot for next year. Yours are wonderful.

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    1. Dear Susan - I have just been reading some information on them, and apparently the bulbs take around 3 years to reach maturity and flower. Now you know that the slugs and snails like them, you will be better prepared next year.

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  16. That's a wonderful way to capture the growth of that beautiful bulb. The only bulbs I've potted up so far are some snowdrops which are beginning to sprout deep down in the soil as I couldn't resist a little peek earlier today, but they'll be for new year. I'll probably end up buying the potted bulb plants! Suzy x

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    1. I am pleased that I photographed it at various stages - even though it is now in the compost bin. The photo reminds me of how glorious it was. I am hoping the other stem will open up much more slowly in the conservatory. I think that the central heating brought the other stem on too quickly.

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  17. Beautiful collage, Rosemary! I love the progression. I'm forcing Red Lions this year.....hope to get many blooms. Last year my Naranjas were divine and quite long-lasting. We keep our house and shop fairly cool.

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    1. Don't force them too quickly or else you will end up like me, over and done before the festive season starts. Hopefully my other stem will take its time in the cooler atmosphere of the conservatory.
      Now why am I surprised that you are forcing Red Lions? - I would have assumed Snow Whites.

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    2. though I normally deprive myself and our home of color, I do go all out for Christmas....and red seems festive ;-)

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    3. A touch of brilliant red will look good against your soft grey and white pallet.

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  18. Dear Rosemary,
    Love those red flowers against a bright blue sky. It looks pretty in bud too. Let's hope the remaining stem will take it's time to bloom, now that it is in a cooler environment.

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    1. It looks as if it might be working Betty - fingers crossed.

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  19. Beautiful ! Hope the other stem will flower at Christmas. I must try to grow some Amaryllis too :)
    Have a nice week, Rosemary !

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    1. They give very satisfying results and brighten up the home.

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  20. Your amaryllis sequence is spectacular! Incidentally, your last posting is not allowing me to answer your reply (a Google glitch, I'm sure). The giant marble table was in the Florentine style, but with an enlarged design, so it was awe-inspiring but also just a tad gaudy.

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    1. Dear Mark - I can imagine contemporary Pietra Dura could look, as you say, a tad gaudy. I suppose everything has its time and place.
      Sorry about blogger playing up. That has occasionally happened to me. If the computer has been switched off and I go back again then it often works.

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  21. Your amaryllis is a gorgeous colour red Rosemary, maybe it felt you needed an early Christmas present :)

    I was reading your response to Kirk and I wish someone had recommended resizing my pictures to me. I discovered I'd used up my free amount just recently :( The shame is I'd been posting them full size, when reducing it makes no difference in quality. Good of you to pass along this information.

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    1. That is a nice idea Rosemary - an early Christmas present. Moving the other stem into the conservatory certainly seems to be slowing the whole process down.
      I think that we all go through that resizing problem. When it happened to me I did not have a clue as to what to do. People said I should resize, and I thought that they mean't that I should post smaller pictures - I did not understand that they were talking about the pixels. Once you find out what you have to do it is easy but getting there can be a headache.
      You are right it does not affect the quality at all which I thought it would.

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  22. What a beautiful and vibrant red colour, it's a shame it flowered before Christmas but at least you had a beautiful flower to enjoy. The last few times I planted any bulbs I had a lot of nice foliage but no flower!

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    1. Thanks Paula - I find red is quite a difficult colour to capture on my little camera.
      The other one has definitely gone into hibernation now it is in the cool so hopefully it will open at Christmas.

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  23. Dear Rosemary
    By the vibrancy and brilliance of the flowers, you made us being in festive mood prior to the season. I enjoyed subtle difference in each facial expression of them. Every year I prepare cyclamen for Christmas and New Year. They come in various pink or red colors and long-lasting till spring though they are not so brilliant as your amaryllis.

    Yoko

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    1. Dear Yoko - I have several cyclamen in the house too. I mainly have the miniature ones and love all of the different colours and variations you can get. They are such pretty little flowers.

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  24. Dear Rosemary,
    Your amaryllis is beautiful-- even though it arrived a bit early! I find it nearly impossible to have blooms actually on Christmas: either they are finished and gone as yours has done, or they're just "green sticks" as my sons used to call them. Still, I keep trying, and, as I'm sure you've found, they add so much life to our wintery rooms. Things have been so busy in the bindery that I'm running late with my bulbs this year, but you've inspired me to bring some home and get them started immediately-- thank you, Rosemary!
    Warm regards,
    Erika

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    1. Dear Erika - I enjoyed the expression 'green sticks' - luckily the other stem is taking its time now it is in the cool of the conservatory.
      One thing that I do love to do is to put a huge bunch of narcissus in a vase in the New Year - it makes me feel as if the Spring is on its way again.
      I am sure that you are very busy at the bindery in the run up to Christmas, it is a lot of extra work for you on top of festive preparations.

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  25. What a beautiful flower! I love it with the green and blue. I like that it has let you spread the holiday out so you get to enjoy it longer.

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    1. Thanks Lisa - that is the more positive way at looking at its early arrival.

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