A colourful, living addition to your Christmas or New Year's home décor, now is the ideal time to pot up a few amaryllis bulbs (Hippeastrum spp.) for your own enjoyment or as an early gift for your friends.
Their history of cultivation dates back over 200 years. A young physician from Leipzig, Germany, Eduard Frederich Poeppig, became one of the first Europeans to come across the amaryllis. Poeppig was on a plant hunting expedition in the Andes Mountains of Chile. He was so thrilled with his discovery that, in the words of a biographer, he was "often compelled to relieve his full heart by uttering loud shouts of joy. His faithful dog, sole companion and witness to his delight," responded with howls of equal delight, provoking alarming attacks by condors. Although most species originate in eastern Brazil, others are found in the central and southern Andes. Today, you don't have to travel to South America to find a prize bulb. They are available from your local garden centres, where you'll find the best selection, or box stores.
The genus has been subject to intense breeding. One of the earliest breeders was Arthur Johnson, a watchmaker from Prescot, England who made crosses in 1799. Jan de Graaff of the Netherlands introduced many hybrids in the mid-19th century including the famous Empress of India. Also influential was Richard Pearce, an employee of the famous British Nursery, James Veitch and Sons, who developed varieties that had very large open flowers with four to six flowers per scape. Most of the bulbs are now produced in the Netherlands, South Africa and Israel.
Readily available as dormant bulbs or as complete kits including potting media and pot, amaryllis are simple to prepare, and will develop at normal room temperature. They form large plants, generally 45-60 centimetres in height with blooms 10-15 centimetres wide and some as large as 20 to 25 centimetres. Colours range from pure white to salmon, pink, red and bicolours. Some have single flowers, others have double flowers or spider-like flowers and some are multi-flowering. They range in size from miniature such as the papilio or "butterfly amaryllis" to jumbo. Only a few have fragrance but all are beautiful to look at.
Bulbs can be brought into flower from late fall until early spring, generally blooming six to eight weeks after potting. By planting a few every two weeks, you will assure yourself of a long and continuous show. As an added bonus, insects or disease seldom trouble them.
There are over 90 species and 600 hybrids. There are many varieties: Moonlight, Mount Blanc and White Dazzler are single whites; Matterhorn is a newer Dutch cultivar with large brilliant white flowers; Papilio is a purple and creamy-green bicolour; Black Pearl is a deep dark red, almost chocolate. Red Lion is a classic fire engine red Christmas amaryllis . Vera is a salmon-pink. Flamenco Queen is red with a white centre, while Sydney is a red and white bicolour; Apple Blossom has pure white petals brushed or feathered with soft pink and a bright green throat. Minerva has large flowers of a rich red with a white star centre and red veining.
Next column: How to grow them.
Sara Williams is the author of the new, revised and expanded Creating the Prairie Xeriscape as well as the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo: A Photographic History. She will be leading tours to Morocco, Turkey and Ireland in 2015. Call Ruth at 1-888-778-2378 (ruth@worldwideecotours.com) for information.
- This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (www.saskperennial.ca; hortscene@yahoo.com). Check out our Bulletin Board or Calendar for upcoming garden information sessions (Nov. 23:My Garden Project - a showcase of horticulture endeavors around town from training young gardeners to a family building a park).
