How to Care for Your Amaryllis After it Has Bloomed
It is the time of year again when the winter is slowly starting to wind down, you have enjoyed your beautiful amaryllis all holiday season long, and it is finally finished blooming. But that is not the end of your beautiful amaryllis! Did you know that you can save your amaryllis so it comes back and blooms next year? Read on to find out how you can care for your Amaryllis once it has bloomed so that it keeps coming back each year!
Pruning Off Withering Blooms
A question we get asked a lot is how to take withering blooms off an amaryllis. Once your flowers begin to fade and wither, you can easily remove them and enjoy the rest of the blooms. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut them off right at the stem of the flower. If the entire stem has finished blooming, simply remove the faded blooms and once the stem starts to shrivel then trim the stem to the top of the bulb. This will allow nutrients in the stem to be redirected to the stems of blooms that are waiting their turn to bloom. Be careful in trimming the blooming stems to avoid any injury to the leaves, as these will be needed for the next 6 months. Remember to keep watering as normal.
Post Bloom Care
Once your amaryllis has fully bloomed and you have pruned all the flower stems, you will see them begin to grow some beautiful leaves. The foliage won’t produce any flowers but will be a nice-looking house plant. Place your amaryllis indoors in a sunny spot that gets lots of natural light to ensure it gets everything it needs. Make sure you keep watering and fertilizing your amaryllis to keep it green and healthy. During this time leaves are producing energy and storing it in the bulb for the next blooming event. This process can take about 6 months, so go ahead and enjoy it as a houseplant.
Making Sure Your Amaryllis Blooms Again
In the last rays of summer, it is time to put your Amaryllis to sleep. There are 2 steps to make sure your amaryllis bloom again; you need to create a dormant period and you need to create a growing period. In early August it is time for the bulbs to go dormant. If the leaves are still lush green, stop watering the soil and allow it to dry out. Once the leaves turn yellow, trim them to the top of the bulb. Then store the dormant bulb in the dried-out soil in a cool, dry area. Set reminders on your phone for mid-October then leave it alone.
When that reminder goes off , bring out your amaryllis. Remove the bulb from the soil and trim any dried roots as it will grow fresh ones. Plant it in fresh, moist potting soil and give it a drink of water. Then place it in a bright warm area around 21˚C. Once you see new growth arriving, you can begin to give it a little bit of water weekly. Keep watering and start to enjoy your new blooms as they come!
If you don’t see any new growth after a couple of weeks of repotting, give the top of the bulb a little squeeze. If it feels soggy or it doesn’t feel firm, your bulb may have rotted or dried out during the year. It happens to even the best of us so don’t worry. Grab a new amaryllis and try again. If you are getting lots of foliage but no flower on year 2 don’t worry about that either. The bulb might not have enough energy to produce the second year. Just treat it like a house plant, follow the same steps, and you can still enjoy the beautiful amaryllis in year 3.
Taking care of your amaryllis is super easy and so much fun to be able to watch bloom year after year. Don’t forget to add in the key dates to your calendar so that you make sure you can enjoy your amaryllis next year!
Charles Cocuzza
Thanks for the post on the Amaryllis I’ve been doing it all wrong for many years however I was getting blooms every other year though I wasn’t putting them to sleep. At one time I separated bulbs I had 15 pots full of them now some of them died off and I have 1 large pot with 6 or 7 bulbs which have been put to sleep yet they are starting to show green again in the cold dormer with sun windows.
Mamma D
I have so many bulbs that I stagger the rest periods so I can enjoy blooms for a longer period. I live in FL and it stays so warm that I have resorted to packing bulbs in perlite and placing them in a spare refrigerator. That seems too be working well!