What now after the Beauty Fades?

These amazing blooms keep me so happy during the winter season. I must be totally honest that I really hate the gray dark days of January and February in Indiana. 

So winter blooms and my greenhouse keep me alive and my hands in the dirt. 

I definitely went down a rabbit hole with Amaryllis this year. In addition to the five I had last year and overwintered, I purchased way too many. I am so easily influenced by my friends on the podcast "The Gardenangelists"  every time they mentioned a different Amaryllis I was on it! But it was fun.

So many of my friends have expressed that they did not want to spend the money on plants that only bloomed once and then were gone. However, this is not the case with these beautiful bulbs.

I do love poinsettias but I have never successfully carried these guys through to the next season. I could not resist this planter but we will see how long it stays cool! But I do not buy a lot of poinsettias.

But back to Amaryllis ....this is what I do to try and save the bulb and have it bloom again next year. 

After the blooms have faded I cut the flowering stalks to an inch or two about the bulb. Do not cut the leaves, leave them intact. 

I then try within the next couple weeks to transplant the plant to a slightly larger pot. All the research I have read recommends keeping the original soil around the bulb. 

Water enough to keep them alive and happy, then when the weather warms up and all danger of frost has pasted I move the pot outside to a semi-shaded location. 

Late Sumer:

This is the hard part for me, to remember to discontinue watering and fertilizing and allow the foliage to wither. This is easiest for me if I bring the pots up on the screen-in porch.

Fall:

Bring the pots back indoors and cut off the withered leaves. If they need repotting this is the time. 

They need to be stored now in a cool dark place for 6-8 weeks. I put them on the porch and try to ignore them, very hard. 

After the resting period I bring them out into a sunny spot and thenVoila!!! Now they sit in the sunshine and come alive. Some are  much slower to show life than others.

But it is ok because these will be blooming by Valentines Day!  Mine did not bloom until after Christmas But you know it was a blessing, my daughter and her husband and our amazing two grand babies had just left to go back to India. I was very blue but then the blooms came it was a gift. 

These bulbs are a Christmas Gift...