Amaryllis care: this is how it blooms at the festival

• A good month before the knight’s star blooms again, its dormant phase ends.
• When flowering, subtropical amaryllis need a bright location and regular water.
• With proper care, this ornamental plant will delight you with new flowers next year.
• Even if amaryllis wax is popular, it is usually a purely disposable product that you should not buy or give as a gift.

Anyone who has never had an amaryllis before will be surprised: the bulb continues to grow and bloom for several weeks. Gorgeous amaryllis are available in a wide range of colors – and caring for winter ornamentals isn’t that difficult. At least if you know at what stage of growth your amaryllis needs what it needs.

Amaryllis is often called… Night Star. The fact is that both plants (amaryllis and knight’s star) are similar in appearance and belong to the same family, the Amaryllis family. Strictly speaking, the name amaryllis for the plants we love during the Christmas season isn’t quite right. True amaryllis (paladonalely) It does not bloom during the Christmas season and is difficult to find here, Star Knight (Hippestrum), on the other hand, delights in winter with its beautiful flowers.

Since both names refer to the same plant, we use the colloquial name Amaryllis here.

4 mistakes to avoid when caring for amaryllis

1. Water the amaryllis abundantly: When submerged in water, onions begin to rot. Therefore, water your amaryllis only sparingly.

2. Planting onions too deep: The top half of the bulb should stick out of the soil. If you plant them deeper, the amaryllis will be too wet.

3. The bowl is too big: Amaryllis grow best in a pot that is barely larger than the bulb.

4. Getting rid of the amaryllis plant after flowering: Under no circumstances should you throw away the amaryllis plant after it has finished blooming! The bulb is ready for a long life and will bloom again next winter. To do that, however, she definitely needs a break.

When do amaryllis need any care?

Subtropical amaryllis plants go through several growth cycles – and at each stage the beautiful diva needs special care to remain healthy for many years.

End of October/beginning of November: Preparing for the flowering period

The dormant phase ends about four to five weeks before the amaryllis bloom again.

If your amaryllis plants have been “oversummered” in your area, then this is the case End of October/beginning of November is a good time to replant them. This gives her the starting signal for a new vegetative cycle. You can use regular soil for houseplants as a substrate. Place the onion flat in the soil, covering only half of it. The pot should not be too large.

Place the amaryllis plant that has not yet flowered in a warm, bright place (about 20 degrees) and water it with a moderate amount of water. When the flower buds open, you can start fertilizing. From this point on, your houseplants can also get more water.

Rule of thumb: The warmer the room temperature, the faster the onions will grow. So, if you do not want the flower to bloom too quickly, place it in a cool place as possible (about 18 degrees).

December to January: Amaryllis flowering time

During its flowering period, amaryllis like to be bright – but please avoid direct sunlight. A temperature just below 20 degrees is optimal.

Blooming amaryllis only need a moderate amount of water, but they do need to be watered regularly. Watering twice a week should be sufficient, preferably with lukewarm water. The more a plant grows and forms buds in the run-up to Christmas, the more water it needs. Do not water the onions directly, but add water to the saucer. It does not like waterlogging at all.

• Warning: If you water it too much during growth, the flower stem will grow and become a little unstable.
• Good to know: The cooler the location, the more amaryllis will bloom.

From February: Amaryllis growth stage

The most important advice at this stage is: In no case should you throw away amaryllis when they stop blooming. The bulb is ready for a long life and will bloom again next winter.

Now you can cut off the wilted flowers. Please cut the pattern only when it is dry. It is best not to cut the dried leaves, as the plant uses the dry leaves to store nutrients in the bulb. Keep the onions moist at this point. From the beginning of spring you can fertilize it every two to three weeks.

Amaryllis in Sumer

When it is guaranteed that there will be no more frosts, the amaryllis can be moved outside, for example to a shaded place on the balcony or in the garden. At this stage, the onions are producing new flowers – sufficient daylight, water and nutrients (in the form of liquid fertilizer) are especially important now.

Important: Protect amaryllis from slugs.

September and October: Amaryllis dormancy period

The rest period is very important for Ritterstern: only when the plant gets the rest period it deserves, you will be rewarded with long flowering into the winter. From the beginning of September to the end of October, you should let the amaryllis rest, preferably in a dark and frost-free place, for example in the basement. During the dormant stage, amaryllis do not need any water or fertilizer. Now you can also cut off any dried leaves.

At the beginning of November it is time to flower again. You can now remove the outer covering of the bulb and plant it in fresh soil. Half of the bulb should come out of the ground. You should only water your amaryllis lightly during this stage. If the onions start to sprout, you can water them a little more, but please avoid getting waterlogged.

Tips and tricks to ensure your amaryllis blooms again next year

• Once the flowers begin to wilt, you should begin fertilizing your amaryllis. Amaryllis stores valuable nutrients and blooms even more magnificently the following year. You can use liquid organic fertilizers as fertilizer, for example nettle fertilizer or manure water.
• Don’t cut off any green leaves – otherwise the plant may lack the strength to produce flowers in the new year.
• Without a rest period there is no flowering phase, amaryllis are somewhat unforgiving. During the dormant phase (September/October), amaryllis should not be watered or fertilized and should be stored in a cool, dark place, for example in the cellar.

Beautiful but unsustainable: amaryllis wax

Whether at a discount store or a plant center: You can currently buy amaryllis with a waxy coating everywhere. It is very easy to care for wax amaryllis: the bulb in its colorful wax robe can simply be placed on the windowsill without soil or pot, the wax layer prevents it from drying out. Since it has stored all the necessary nutrients in its tuber, the waxed tuber does not need watering.

Does it sound like a little dream for people who don’t have a “green thumb”? no. Because upon closer inspection, amaryllis is usually unnecessary trash: since the tuber does not receive any nutrients, it is often so exhausted by the end of the flowering phase that it has no chance of survival and dies.

Although you can try to carefully remove the wax layer after flowering, the wax layer usually cannot be removed without damaging the bulb. If you’re lucky, you can try growing amaryllis in well-drained soil and storing it. Amaryllis with a waxy coating cannot be put in compost, but must be disposed of with the remaining waste.

ÖKO-TEST is recommended: The most sustainable are the amaryllis bulbs, which are carefully cared for and lit during the Christmas season every year.

Amaryllis: what else you should know about the Knight’s Star

• The larger the bulb, the larger the flower.
• Amaryllis is very sensitive to cold. So be careful when ventilating when your amaryllis are blooming.
• The amaryllis bulb is poisonous and should not be eaten under any circumstances. Onions are also dangerous for pets.