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If you are thinking about planting Amaryllis I have lots of information to share with you. First of all the Amaryllids are widely distributed in the temperate and tropical parts of the world and are particularly adapted to gardens in the far south and the middle south, as well as the Gulf states and California.
With deep planting and also protection, some of the tender Amaryllids will grown outdoors even father north. They just don't like to be moved, so don't be disappointed if they don't bloom the first year or even in pots. They also like to be fed heavily. A mulch of cow manure is the best fertilizer that I have found for my garden. Sheep manure and bonemeal are second best. Their requirements in general are sun, light soil, drainage, and plenty of water during the growing period, but little when they are dormant.
Planted as summer bulbs they need as long a growing period as possible, so they should be planted early. Light frost will not hurt them, so they may be left in the ground until the leaves are frosted. After being dug up, the bulbs should be dried before being stored in sand. For those grown in pots, care after blooming is especially important. They should be watered and fed with liquid manure until the foliage ripens. I will describe below the varieties.
Linnaeus named the genus Amaryllis for one of Virgil's nymphs, and the genus gives its name to the family. This genus, long confused botanically, as always been popular with gardeneres, in spite of the difficulties involved in the changing of names.
Alstroemeria- Peruvian Lily 3'. These are considered hardy to Washington, D.C., and with a mulch, to New Jersey and Ohio. These should be planted two inches deep, in the fall in the south, in the spring in the north. The tubers can be carried over the winter in damp sand in a cool cellar, but thte fleshy roots are easily broke, and it is best to leave them undisturbed if possible.
A. belladonna (South Africa). Hardy and floriferous in northern Virginia. The bulbs should be set out in a well prepared soil mixed with leaf mold, sand and old manure, in June or July when dormant. They require shallow planting, even in cold climates, if they are to bloom. The pink, vanilla-scented flowers that bloom in August are in umbels on naked stems, the leaves dying away before the bloom appears. The bulbs are not to be expected to bloom in pots the first year.
A. advenum- These are small, fall-flowering Amaryllid from Chile, with dropping, dark red flowers, five to seven to an umbel. This should be planted in full sun in a medium or heavy soil, and moved only in mid-summer when dormant. The long-necked bulbs need deep planting, six or eiht inches if not too deep in cold climates, and may be given a yearly mulch of cow manure. The leaves come up in the fall with the buds, and remain all winter unhurt by cold. They do die down in summer.
The hybrid plants long popular known as Amaryllis were changed years ago to the genus Hippeastrum. The garding public just never adopted that name. Now the botantists have abandoned it and changed it back to Amaryllis. These hybrids can be grown oudoors only in frost-free areas. They are, however, the most popular bulbs for pots in all parts of the country. The pots should be twice the diameter of the bulb, which should be planted iwth the neck and the top above the soil. The bulbs can be potted from late November until late March, the earlier the better. They should be watered when planted, and kept in a cool place (45 to 50 degrees) at first, then changed to a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees and the water gradually increased. They need waer and liquid manure after flowering, and as long as the foliage is green. Then give the bulbs a rest with no food and very little water. When the new buds appear it is time to repot if the bulb has outgrown the pot.
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