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Amaryllis is a hardy bulbous variety that will add colour to your home with little effort. Kiran Narain describes these hardy perennials With the scarce water supply in summers in most of the urban areas, two bulbous Amaryllis varieties offer beauty with minimum care and watering headaches. Hippeastrum (Amaryllidaceae) Large bulbous plants, with strap-like leaves and magnificent heads of lily-like showy flowers on hallow but strong stalks are popularly known as Amaryllis even though they were changed to the genus Hippeastrum decades ago. Originally grown in South America, these are perennials which have five or six petals of six to seven inches across trumpet-shaped flowers. The Dutch hybrids are available in deep crimson, white with pink stripes and pure white. These flower in March and April. Hippeastrum can be grown outdoors only in areas where there is very mild frost for a few days. They are the most popular bulb for pot culture in all parts of the world. Plant these in soil while spacing bulbs at 12 inch apart, with two to three inches of soil covering them. Or put them singly in 3 inch or three in 9 inch size pots in standard compost, well firmed up till the collar of the bulb. Water sparingly until growth begins, then increase gradually. You may apply liquid manure or standard house plant fertiliser at flowering. Hippeastrim are very easily grown and propagated in our climate and one does not have to be too careful about protecting them. It is not uncommon to see these grown outside houses along the boundary wall. The dead leaves are cut of in winter and new offsets i.e. baby bulbs keep on growing and integrating themselves as part of the parent clan. The bulbs have a long dormant period when they do not need much care. The foliage is even good for cut flower arrangements. They can be left in a comparatively dry place after flowering till the time when new buds appear. Hippeastrum is propagated through offsets. These can be detached when about 1 inch to 2 inch across. Try to remove each bulb with the maximum number of roots attached. Plant each bulb in 3 inch pot or direct in soil where it should flower in a couple of years. Haemanthus (Amaryllidaceae), also called blood lily, each bulb throws up a stout floral stem about nine to 18 inches tall, bearing a dense umble of small one to two inch tubular flowers with protruding stamens in coral red or large crimson flowers in case of H.katharinae. The flowers come up in late May and June and are followed by pairs of 12-18-inches-long oval leaves. Pot in standard compost with some sand, setting the bulb in a manner that its tip is above the surface. Need for repotting arises only if the bulb grows so much that it touches the rim of the pot or its roots appear on the surface. In such a case, use the hosepipe to wash out part of the soil, without disturbing the roots and add fresh soil. Only top dressing will suffice and liquid high potash fertilizer during growth period will benefit the plants. Water moderately during
growth, allowing the top one inch or so to dry in between watering. As
the leaves start turning yellow, cut down watering till dormant. Just
keep the mixture barely moist thereafter. This
feature was published on 13 March, 2005 |
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