FIRST QUARTER AMARYLLIS

Enjoy the glories of Amaryllis from January through to March

Original Release Date: November 2003

We tend to think of Amaryllis as 'de rigeur' home decor for the holiday season. But, truth be told, these
astonishing plants, with their larger-than-life sized blossoms can get lost in the shuffle, what with the tree, lights and festive paraphernalia that tends to accompany Christmas.

"Last year, it was January by the time I got around to potting up my five Amaryllis bulbs", says Carol Cowan, Director of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Centre of Canada. "Some started to grow almost immediately, others took their sweet time. By mid-February the first blossoms burst out of their buds, and the show didn't end until the latter part of March. What a wonderful way to experience the glories of nature during the steely-grey heart of winter."

Curious about the great length of time during which her Amaryllis bloomed, Ms. Cowan contacted Holland¹s largest grower of Amaryllis and found that, as with most bulb flowers, Amaryllis varieties also fall into early, mid and
late blooming categories.

Bloom times
It is usually advised that one stagger plantings of Amaryllis, say one or two a week over a three week period, in order to prolong the time you get to live with their extravagant display. However, now armed with the following
information, you can plant them all at the same time and will find that the mid-season varieties will flower 1 to 2 weeks later than the early-season varieties, and the late-season varieties will flower 1 to 2 weeks later than
the mid-season ones.


To everything there is a season

Early Season Blooming Amaryllis Varieties

• Single blooming: 'Orange Sovereign', 'Lucky Strike', 'Apple Blossom', 'Minerva', 'Roma', 'Vera' and 'Mount Blanc'
• Double blooming: 'Lady Jane', 'Mary Lou', 'Aphrodite' and 'Pasadena'
• Gracillis (or miniature) varieties: 'Donau', 'Scarlet Baby', 'Giraffe', Amouretta' and 'Pamela'.

Mid Season Blooming Amaryllis Varieties

• Single blooming: 'Red Lion', 'Liberty', 'Royal Velvet', 'Hercules', 'Wonderland', 'Rilon' and 'Picotee'
• Double blooming: 'Double Record', 'Unique', 'Blossom Peacock' and 'White Peacock'
• Cybister (or miniature) varieties: 'Emerald', 'Papilio', 'Lemon Lime' and 'Ruby Meyer'
• Trumpet variety (these have a shape somewhat akin to Easter Lilies, but smaller): 'Pink Floyd'.

Late Season Blooming Amaryllis Varieties

• Single blooming: 'Las Vegas', 'Clown', 'Piquant', 'Toronto', 'Vlammenspel', 'Happy Memory' and 'Charisma'
• Double blooming: 'Promise', 'Dancing Queen', 'Flaming Peacock' and 'Andes'
• Miniature varieties: 'La Paz', 'Chico' and 'Santos' (which has variegated leaves)
• Trumpet varieties: 'Amputo' and 'Misty'.

When to buy
For optimal selection, it is a good idea to purchase your Amaryllis bulbs in November and December when they first appear in the stores. If you¹re going to wait until the New Year to pot them up, store the bulbs in a cool, dry,
dark place.

Should your Amaryllis start to sprout before you¹re ready to pot them up (if kept in the dark these sprouts will be very pale green and rather anemic) it won¹t harm their future development.

Just about the time your Amaryllis start to fade, the snowdrops and crocus should be appearing in the garden. First Quarter Amaryllis are a terrific way to shorten the winter and hurry along that hands-in-dirt experience thatgardeners so love.

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