What to do after the hippeastrum has faded?

Hippeastrum are famous for their luxurious flowers in a variety of shapes and colors. And although the flowering of this indoor bulbous culture lasts up to a month and can be repeated up to three times a year, the flowers inevitably wither, and only leathery elongated leaves remain above the soil surface. Then they can turn yellow.

What to do next when the hippeastrum has faded? How to make the bulbs gain strength and again please the grower with a lush bouquet at the top of the peduncle?

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Vegetation of the hippeastrum after flowering

The flowering of hippeastrum requires enormous strength from the plant, therefore, after the huge flowers wither, the bulb is in dire need of restoration. And this extremely important period in a single bloom usually lasts nine months. If, after flowering, the hippeastrum is transplanted, it will be found that the bulb has noticeably lost weight, and the upper scales have lost their elasticity.

Growing leaves and intensive feeding during the growing season will help the plant regain its former strength and impose the rudiments of future peduncles:

• As the flowers wither, the arrows are cut off, leaving 10-15 cm above the bulb. Then, when the arrow is dry, it is unscrewed by a slight turn around the axis.
• Leaves appear gradually, approximately one at a time every 3-4 weeks.

As in the flowering period, during the growing season, the plants are watered abundantly and must be fed. Watering is carried out carefully, on the soil that has dried up from the previous time, without getting on the foliage and bulb:

• At room conditions, you can pour water into the pan, making sure that the moisture does not stagnate and the roots remain healthy.
• If the hippeastrum is planted in the garden after flowering, a shallow groove is made around the bulb in the soil, where it is carried out watering.

Top dressing is carried out in moist soil or combined with watering. Regular application of liquid fertilizers, especially potassium and phosphorus, will help to quickly restore strength to the bulb

Hippeastrum care after flowering, it provides for feeding at least 2 times a month; for seriously weakened and young plants, they are made more frequent, for example, once a week.

As a fertilizer, you can use complex formulations for decorative flowering or bulbous plants.

Rest period for hippeastrum

Traditionally, the period of "hibernation" for the hippeastrum is arranged in the fall and early winter. It takes two to three months for the bulb to recuperate and lay flower buds. The exact duration cannot be known in advance, since it depends on the intensity of the previous flowering and care for the hippeastrum after it.

A sign of readiness for rest can be the wilting of leaves on a tight large bulb. However, today there are a number of varieties and hybrids that practically do not lose their leaves. In this case, you will notice that new sheet plates no longer appear:

• At the end of the growing season for the hippeastrum, watering is reduced, and in September or October they stop altogether.
• The last feeding is carried out 4 weeks before the plants are sent to hibernation.

If the hippeastrum, after flowering, will retire in September or early October, then by the New Year holidays, one can expect that a strong bulb will give a new peduncle. For this period of time, the plant mimics the South American winter, providing:

• lack of lighting;
• temperature in the range of 12-14 ° C;
• small, not higher than 60%, air humidity;
• extremely sparing watering, preventing the death of roots.

For young, not blooming bulbs and children, a rest period is not needed.If uneven-aged plants grow in one container, it is better to plant them before "hibernation".

This will allow the plant not to be injured by the transplant when it comes out of the dormant period, and will give the bulb additional nutrition. Usually hippeastrum after flowering go into hibernation transplanted in a pot. But you can also dig up the bulbs. In this case, they are stored on their side, without cutting off the foliage and sprinkling with sawdust. The temperature regime is the same, that is, 12-14 ° C. Often with this method it is possible to achieve earlier flowering, but there is a risk of losing the bulb due to drying out.

What if the faded hippeastrum further gives leaves, already in a cool place? The bulb itself will help to answer the question:

• If it is dense and has grown over the summer, the plant has completed its rest and is ready to bloom.
• But if its scales are sluggish, the florist made a mistake and sent the bulb into hibernation early. It is better to transplant such a plant and continue to actively feed and water it.

Only healthy, dense bulbs that have fully recovered during the growing season should be sent to rest.

Such a hippeastrum will wake up on its own in a few weeks, releasing a powerful peduncle or the first leaf.

How to grow hippeastrum - video