My ‘Red Lion’ amaryllis bloomed this week…I don’t know why I thought it would be a deeper red colour, but I’m definitely not disappointed: the hint of orange/salmon has a wonderful tropical appeal. I am pleased that the bulb has produced a second flower stalk which should bloom very soon – this is the first time I’ve grown amaryllis that has sent up more than a single stalk. (You can tell I’m not particularly serious about purchasing amaryllis. I buy them on sale at the grocery store and not from specialty growers). This particular plant seems nice and compact, as well – I’m not fighting with tall, heavy stems and flowers that threaten to topple the container. A nice treat for the holiday season!
Do you grow amaryllis? Have you ever saved them over and gotten them to rebloom (and if so, what did you do to accomplish it?).
UPDATED JANUARY 6, 2015 – as Chloris has pointed out in the comments below, it seems that my amaryllis is not actually a ‘Red Lion’ cultivar as I was led to believe by the seller. That would definitely explain my confusion as to the colour of the blooms! But…I don’t know which coral-striped type this is, so if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to chime in!
Flowery Prose 
Red Lion is a beautiful Amarylis. I have wintered them over and gotten them to bloom without a problem. However, after a few years I found the flower gets smaller and not as plentiful. Buying them in the store is one thing. The old saying is very appropriate here of, “You get what you pay for.” The grocery store bulbs are not well looked after and they don’t winter over as well. The best Amarylis I had was from Art Knapps nursery. I had 3 stalks with at least three blooms on each stalk. Of course, the bulb was $18 but well worth it because I wintered it over for several years.
Jean
http://canadiancats.wordpress.com
Definitely true – cheaping out on amaryllis bulbs (usually) makes for a one-time-only splash…if overwintering is a goal, it’s important to spend the money on quality.
Lovely, but definitely not Red Lion.
It is difficult to get them to flower again. I can keep them going, but they just produce leaves the following year.
I don’t have space to keep them over and attempt a rebloom – it would be fun to experiment with it one of these years. Need to purchase better bulbs, though! 🙂
I’ve never grown them before but this one looks great. I love the colour!
It is a pretty one! 🙂
Lovely! I took one out of the pot after flowering last year and left it on a shelf to dry and forgot about it… in early summer I saw it had started sprouting, so I planted it in the garden and it flowered beautifully in August! 🙂 (Unfortunately I forgot to dig it out until it was too late and it had started to rot in the damp ground.)
How wonderful that it bloomed during the summer! Too bad the bulb rotted, it would have been interesting to see how long you could keep it going with a indoors/outdoors planting cycle. But at least you received one more gift from it!
It is very beautiful with a hint of the tropics.
Our Amaryllis also just started to bloom This year I’m growing ‘Miracle’, which is a deep red.
Love that marvellous colour!
I have had good luck with amaryllis. I live in Southern California and the temperatures are very moderate so I can leave them in the ground. The interesting thing is that even in a moderate climate the temperatures still shift, so the bloom can be almost anytime! The last time they bloomed this year was spring and I haven’t had a repeat bloom this winter. Some years I do! They are a rewarding bulb, though, aren’t they? So beautiful….and yours most definitely is lovely!
How great is it to be able to leave the bulbs in the ground! I wish we could do that here.
Beautiful. Thanks.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Really gorgeous–you got a lot of bang for your buck!
It was a lucky purchase, I think!
I’ve never grown one, but seeing yours, I must reconsider.
I too think of them as darker in color, but what a special surprise to have yours bloom in rich corals. Enjoy!
Thank you! I am delighted with this particular cultivar!
PS your header is absolutely perfect with the WordPress snow this month.
Many thanks! I’m very fond of the place shown in the photo…a great area to hike!
I do grow these and mine were just started so I hope to have blooms in mid winter
Such a treat to have flowers at that time! Brightens the whole house! 🙂
That was an excellent purchase for some one with green fingers like yourself! I never grow Amarillys…or any other indoor plants;0) As much as I love gardening, indoor plants usually die on my within the week…too depressing;0)
I do my fair share of exterminating my houseplants as well! 😉
Beautiful colour, unique! 🙂 Best wishes for the season, Iris
Thank you so much, Iris, and all the best to you!
That orange / salmon color is beautiful! The veins (is that what they’re called?) add so much to the overall flower
The blooms are really striking, aren’t they? I’m rather enthusiastic about this particular cultivar – will definitely grow it again.
What a beauty. I got mine late, so looking forward to blooms next month.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year, Sheryl. I enjoy your posts.