OT-PLANTS: moving amaryllis
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: OT-PLANTS: moving amaryllis
- From: s*@aristotle.net (J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey)
- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 20:27:47 -0700 (MST)
>Do amaryllis transplant well?
Hey, Sharon. You don't say which amaryllis. Are you talking about
Belladonna or one of the Hippeastrums, which are often used as houseplants
at Christmas or Easter? As I understand it, they both have a resting period
after flowering. Hippeastrums would be easier to deal with, since their
foliage sags and browns when they're ready to sleep, and you can take them
from the ground after their summer of sunbathing and still get a decent
bloom the next season. Once the foliage sags after bloom, dry them out,
lift them, lop the foliage and away you go. They pretty much decide when
they want to wake up, so you can't keep them on hold forever. You know
when they usually bloom, so be prepared to restart them about then or
you'll open up your box or paper bag (not plastic) to find it choked with
crooked goosenecks. Whether you can set them out again in chilly Washington
or not is another question. I think you may have yourself a whole new batch
of houseplants.
Belladonnas don't go dormant until May - which would be great for you if
you moved in May, but lousey if you moved in April.
Belladonnas are supposed to tolerate some frost if protected. I've always
been told Hippeastrums only do well outdoors in Zone 8 and below (every
year I ask Mom if I can put mine outdoors and she tells me not to). You
need to ask somebody up there what the story is.
celia
storey@aristotle.net
Little Rock, Arkansas USDA Zone 7b
