Why doesn't homemade amaryllis bloom?
From distant countries, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese sailors carried outlandish plants, jewelry and spices. So, in 1714, amaryllis bulbs first came to Europe. At first, tall flower stalks appeared above the planted plants, then pink tubular amaryllis flowers opened on their tops, and the whole surrounding space was enveloped in floral fragrance.
The exotic flower culture quickly became popular, and bulbs from South Africa made their way around the world. Ease of cultivation and unpretentiousness attracted flower growers in many countries. But the plants did not always please their owners with regular flowering. Enthusiasts who nourished and cherished the bulbs in greenhouses, and gardeners who tried to achieve flowers in the open field, often complained that amaryllis does not bloom, but only produces dense green leaves.
In fact this is not true. If you know some of the features of the plant and take into account its origin, amaryllis flowers will delight with enviable constancy with their appearance and amazing aroma.
Homemade amaryllis native to South Africa
Question: "How to make amaryllis bloom?" worried many minds. The whole secret is that the plant needs to imitate conditions close to its natural ones.
Wild amaryllis - these are plants with a pronounced growing season and a mandatory dormant period. The first signs of bulb activity, dormant for part of spring and all summer, appear in March, the first autumn month in the southern hemisphere. It is at this time that the rains begin, the temperature reaches a comfortable 20-25 ° C, and the rocky slopes are covered with lush inflorescences, consisting of 6-12 large pink flowers.
The flowering of amaryllis lasts up to six weeks, then the inflorescences wither, and their place is taken by leathery elongated leaves that grow all winter and spring. The dying off of foliage indicates the preparation of amaryllis for a dormant period.
For well-being, homemade amaryllis are created under conditions similar to those that the plant had in nature:
- From the moment of the formation of the peduncle and until the last flower binds, the culture is watered as soon as the surface layer of the soil dries up, and fed with a complex agent twice a month.
- The interval between flowering and leaf formation is used to transplant the bulb and separate the children from it.
- Watering is reduced when foliage begins to grow, and stops when it dies.
- Amaryllis spends the rest period at a temperature of +9 ° C. The temperature is not raised until the plant shows signs of growth again.
If amaryllis does not bloom, you need to understand the possible reasons for this and try to fix the situation. The buds of inflorescences in the depths of the bulb are laid at least one season before the upcoming flowering.
In nature, culture prefers lighted, ventilated places with drained soil. At home, a potting soil mixture consisting of 2 parts is suitable for her. peat, the same amount of loam, one part of perlite or sand. A glass of bone meal is mixed into 6 liters of such a substrate and the bulb is planted so that most of it remains above the ground.At the same time, home amaryllis does not tolerate waterlogging, but easily tolerates drought.
Reasons for the lack of flowers in amaryllis
Amaryllis can refuse to form buds if you break the order established by nature, for example:
- place the plant in unsuitable humidity or temperature conditions;
- deepen the bulb when planting;
- plant in a dense substrate that prevents the growth of the root system.
A shaded indoor amaryllis can also make its owner jittery about the degraded flowering quality. As a result of a prolonged lack of light, the number of buds is reduced, visibly smaller amaryllis flowers.
Moving the plant out of the shade into the sun will help you enjoy more lush blossoms next year.
The situation when there are much fewer flowers on the amaryllis than a year ago, or the peduncle has not developed at all, the florist can observe if:
- the bulb has been exposed to subzero temperatures;
- the plant is depleted due to the large number of children that have developed, but not separated in time;
- the green pet did not have a full recovery.
When the inflorescences wither and leaves appear, the bulbous plants actively replenish the expended forces. This is not only due to the extraction of nutrients from the soil, but also due to the photosynthesis processes provided by the leaves. And this time, and the subsequent period of rest for amaryllis is extremely important.
For better flowering, amaryllis plants must go through a full annual cycle, and experienced flower growers advise not to cut off slightly wilted foliage, but to wait until it dries and dies off naturally.
Sometimes the question is: "Why don't homemade amaryllis bloom?" asked by flower growers who enjoyed a particularly large number of rosebuds last year. Usually an adult bulb produces a single flower stalk. When two powerful inflorescences swing over the ground, this can be a serious load for the plant. Obviously, the bulb that "worked well" last year could not fully recover and took a kind of "vacation". Amaryllis, which not only bloomed in the previous season, but also gave seeds or children, behave in a similar way.
It doesn't matter if the amaryllis do not bloom, the bulbs of which have not reached the age of 3–6 years. Such plants have not yet accumulated the necessary strength and have not formed the rudiments of buds. Very young specimens do not "hibernate" at home, therefore, unlike adult amaryllis, they are kept warm all year round, watered and fed, waiting for maturation.
If subsequently the bulb receives competent care, watering and feeding, there is nothing to worry about. In the future, amaryllis will again delight you with an abundance of pink fragrant flowers.