How to Grow Amaryllis

Few large growers have made a specialty of the amaryllids, which include the handsome Agapanthus, Clivia, Haemanthus, Sprekelia, and Zephyranthes. Currently the main sources are foreign, but there is no reason why you couldn't grow and sell them here. Many have only basic cultural requirements.

Culture is about the same for all of them. Large bulbs are potted so their crowns are well above the soil—about one-third. Smaller bulbs are set with crowns barely protruding from the soil. All are heavy feeders, and during their growth period they should not be allowed to dry out.

Prepare a soil of fibrous loam, sand, and leafmold with a pH no higher than 6.5. Growers in Florida have experimented with synthetic growing media. Wyndham Hayward of Lakemont Gardens, Winter Park, recommends potting in sphagnum moss well firmed around the bulb. The bulbs are fed regularly with dried, sterilized, cow manure, about 1 teaspoonful every 2 weeks for bulbs growing in 6- or 7-inch pots. In addition, they receive liquid fertilizer every week. The moss must be damp but not soggy.

Bring amaryllids into growth in a house with a minimum temperature of 60 degrees. If it is well ventilated, they do not seem  to suffer even when in summer temperatures go up to the 90's. Good light is necessary to keep flower scapes straight.

After flowering, amaryllids usually produce heavy foliage. This must continue to grow for at least 6 months to let the bulbs "fatten" and make buds for the next flowering. As foliage yellows—usually in the fall—dry off the bulbs and store at 45 to 50 degrees. When new growth shows, bring the bulbs to the light, water them, and feel assured that they are set for another round of bloom.

Propagation
Propagation of most amaryllids is through offsets, the term applied to small bulbs growing alongside the mother bulb. These can be separated and potted individually. Some growers "rim out" the bottom of the bulb—as previously described for hyacinths—to make it produce more offsets. Don't try this trick unless you're experienced.

With the species amaryllis you can produce more of their kind by hand pollinating them and raising them from seed. The majority of amaryllis ripen seed in about 6 weeks, but Haeman-thus seeds sometimes take up to 4 months.

Seeds should be planted immediately after ripening in a light loam. As soon as the weather warms up, the little seedlings can be transplanted to the cold frame or lath house or directly into the garden. Not hardy in most areas, they have to be replanted to pots or flats and kept in the greenhouse during the cold months.

Amaryllis and Profit
The large Dutch bulbs are favorites with collectors and others who want the pleasure of bringing a bulb to flower in their own homes. Because they take so much space, it is not generally a money-making proposition for the small operator to propagate these bulbs, unless you are thinking of establishing your own line of hybrids. If you want to sell the large Dutch types, you will make more money purchasing bulbs in quantity lots and reselling them at retail in early fall. If you pot leftover bulbs, you can sell them as budded or flowering plants.

The species amaryllis are smaller flowered and much prized by collectors. There are A. striata and its varieties in shades of salmon to near pink; A. calyptrata with fragrant green flowers; the "blue" amaryllis, A. Worsleya Rayneri, with mauve-tinted, ruffled flowers; Mrs. Garfield, a named variety of A. reticulata, having a cream-colored stripe down the leaf midribs and pink-and-white flowers with the coming of autumn.
Dr. Ira Nelson of Louisiana State University has discovered some beautiful South American species. A number of these are definitely yellow. One especially fine one is A. Evansae, which opens creamy yellow and fades to white with foliage and flowers much smaller than those of the Dutch amaryllis.

Get your start on the species by purchasing bulbs or seeds. You can then pollinate the flowers and sell the seed crop. Or you can grow the seeds and sell the seedlings, and increase the price according to their age.

Amaryllis calyptrata and A. Evansae are difficult to self pollinate. With these the best procedure is to use pollen from another plant of the same species rather than from the same plant. Thus, it is good insurance to purchase two bulbs of the rarer sorts—or grow a few seedlings for your own hybridizing.