amaryllis time continues

The amaryllis have been in the cool garage, and I have been bringing them into the relatively warm house every few weeks to get them to flower. It worked for some, others didn't do anything. I figured that they didn't get enough sun and fertilizer last year to bloom. 'Minerva' was one of those, sitting in the house for a month before I put it back into the garage so that it wouldn't grow leaves too soon. Then the weather started to warm up, the days longer, and up pops two flower stalks. I think some plants are more affected by their internal clock than others. After all, Hippeastrum bloom in the spring in their natural climate.

'Minerva's buds develop white with pink edges and as the flowers open, the internal scarlet develops. Last year as the buds developed, I also thought that it was the wrong plant, but then flowers opened and color developed. The leaves develop just as the stems elongate, unlike many amaryllis whose flowers develop on leafless plants. 'Minerva' is an old variety, and still a great plant, the flowers being in proportion to the stem height, and apparently easy to grow from year to year.

'La Paz' on the other hand, has very long stems, with the spidery flowers perched on the top, looking a bit small in proportion. My plant of 'La Paz' has put out a second flower stem. It bloomed December 22, 2013 by my records, and I thought it was done. But with the warming weather, another stem has appeared, and a third is forming. Quite a pleasant surprise. These photos show a more true color than the last photos.

I also didn't think that 'Samba' would bloom this year, no signs of bloom a year after a month indoors. It seemed like a struggle for it to bloom last year as a new bulb also. Stay tuned.

It's funny how some amaryllis like 'Samba' put out a stem with a big fat bud at the top, and others, like 'La Paz', and H. papilio have a long skinny bud, inside which the forming flowers seem too small to ever amount to much. 'Minerva' and 'Ruby Star', are sort of in the middle. I have a friend who freaks out when she sees stems like these developing. She averts her eyes, and even blocks the view with her hand, saying it looks gross. She wasn't like that before her divorce. It makes me worry about her.