Bulb · Amaryllidaceae
Amaryllis
Hippeastrum hybridum
Set the bulb in a pot, offer warmth and water, and within weeks a bare nub turns into a tall column of trumpet blooms.
Bright indirect
Every 5–10 days
64–75°F · 18–24°C
28–56 days
Overview
Little else on a windowsill commands a room the way an amaryllis does. A single plump bulb sends up one stout stalk crowned with several outsized trumpet flowers, in tones of deep red, clean white, or pink and white together, the kind of statement a side table or mantel can build a winter mood around. It sits in the genus Hippeastrum, the tender amaryllis kin raised indoors, and it asks for surprisingly little to perform.
In most homes it lives as a forced indoor bulb, potted in fall to carry color from winter into spring when the rest of the house has gone quiet. Settle the bulb with its top third above the soil, water it, and keep the room warm, and the first flowers unfurl about 4 to 8 weeks on, holding their display for three or four weeks. Through the gentle winters of zones 7 to 10 it can take a turn outdoors as well.
What you do once the blooms fade decides whether next winter holds an encore. Keep the leaves growing in bright light and feed them so the bulb banks its energy, then let it rest somewhere cool and dark before you start it over. Neglect that step and the following season hands you all leaves and no flowers.
Care
The short version: bright light, warm rooms, and a free-draining pot. Set the bulb with its top third exposed, water once the top 2 inches of soil dry out, and feed through active growth so it can flower again the following year.
Light
Amaryllis leans toward bright light, happiest at a sunny window with a few hours of direct sun. It will sit anywhere from full sun to partial shade, though a dim corner leaves you with thin, leaning stalks. Give the pot a quarter turn every few days to keep the flower stem rising straight.
Water
Give it a good soak right after potting, then let the mix stay only lightly damp until growth gathers pace. Water once the top 2 inches of soil feel dry and let the pot drain off freely. Lift the rhythm to once or twice weekly through active growth and flowering, then ease off or stop while the bulb rests dormant.
Soil
Reach for a well-drained potting mix with plenty of organic matter, on the order of equal parts peat and perlite. A pH in the 6.0 to 7.0 range suits it well. Drainage counts for more than anything else here, since a bulb left sitting in wet soil rots in short order.
Temperature
Hold it in ordinary warm rooms, 64°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C), while it grows and flowers. A cooler setting helps the open blooms hold longer. The separate cool, dark interval it needs for dormancy is its own chapter, not part of the everyday range.
Humidity
Everyday indoor air is plenty, so there is no figure to chase. Amaryllis pays little mind to moisture in the room, which makes it an undemanding companion through the winter months.
Feeding
Feed every two weeks while the plant is growing and the leaves stand up, never while the bulb sits bare and dormant. A liquid houseplant feed weighted toward phosphorus, around a 10-20-15 blend, backs the flowering, and it goes on at half strength.
Pruning
Pinch away each flower as it fades, then take the whole stalk down close to the bulb once the final bloom has gone over. Let the foliage stay put, since those leaves restock the bulb for the season ahead. Take the leaves off only after they yellow and die back of their own accord.
Repotting
Amaryllis flowers at its best when a touch potbound, so repot only every 3 to 4 years. Move it up when roots crowd or circle the pot, the bulb swells to fill most of the container, or the flowers begin to shrink. Reset it with the top third of the bulb proud of the soil line.
Size & spacing
In flower, a potted amaryllis reaches 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) and spreads roughly 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm). Stick to one bulb per pot, in a container just a little broader than the bulb.
When to plant
An amaryllis keeps the calendar of a forced bulb. Pot it in fall, usually October or November, and the stalk rises to bring winter and early-spring color. Across zones 7 to 10 it can shift outdoors once the last spring frost is behind you.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Pot bulbs indoors in fall to early winter (often October through November) for winter and early-spring bloom.
- Plant: Move or plant outdoors in spring after all danger of frost has passed (zones 7-10).
- Harvest: Winter to spring; flowers typically develop about 4 to 8 weeks after potting and last roughly 3 to 4 weeks.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–10
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Trouble with an amaryllis usually surfaces in the stalk, the leaves, or the bulb beneath them. Spot the first signals and the bulb is often still saveable for another year. Find the match below, then step in before things go further.
A mushy bulb and growth that caves in
A bulb gone soft to the touch with a sour smell has slipped into bulb rot, usually the result of a pot held too wet, most often around a bare, leafless bulb. Set the watering can aside straight away and let the mix dry, then move the bulb into fresh, free-draining soil with its top third standing proud of the surface. Pare off any spoiled tissue, and part with the bulb completely once rot has worked its way into the core.
Fix:
- Stop watering and let the medium dry out
- Repot into fresh, well-drained mix with one-third to one-half of the bulb above the soil line
- Trim away rotted tissue or discard a badly rotted bulb
All foliage and not a single bloom
When a healthy clump of leaves appears with no flower in sight, you are looking at failure to rebloom, almost always a bulb that skipped its rest or never banked enough energy to perform. Let the foliage carry on in bright light and feed it once the previous flowers finish, so reserves rebuild, then settle the bulb into a cool, dark dormancy of about 8 to 12 weeks before coaxing it awake. A bulb that is still small or young is simply not ready, and one more season will size it up.
Fix:
- Keep foliage actively growing in bright light and fertilize during the growing season to rebuild the bulb
- Provide a cool (about 50 to 60 degrees F), dark rest period of 8 to 12 weeks
- Resume watering and warmth to force new growth and bloom
Reddish marks streaking the leaves and stems
Spreading red marks and streaks across the foliage and flower stem are the signature of red blotch, also known as leaf scorch, a fungal trouble that arrives already lodged in the bulb. Pull away and destroy the most damaged leaves, then turn the bulb over for the tunneling and soft spots that signal bulb mites or narcissus fly larvae at work instead. Settle sound bulbs into fresh, clean mix, and discard any that prove infested or rotting.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy severely affected leaves or bulbs
- Inspect and discard infested or rotting bulbs
- Repot healthy bulbs into fresh, clean potting mix
Lanky stalks that bend toward the glass
A stalk that flops and tips toward the window is showing etiolation, its way of straining for light that the room is not giving. Shift the pot to a bright, sunny spot and rotate it every few days so the stem rises true rather than curving off to one side. An overly warm room only compounds the problem by forcing soft, hurried growth, and a discreet stake will steady the tallest stems until they harden.
Fix:
- Move the plant to a bright, sunny window
- Rotate the pot regularly so stalks grow upright
- Stake tall flower stalks for support if needed
Toxicity
This plant is poisonous, and the bulb is the most hazardous part of all. Each part carries lycorine and kindred alkaloids that turn the stomach if swallowed. Keep bulbs and plants beyond the reach of pets, livestock, and children, and wash your hands once you have handled them.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that nibbles at a leaf or the bulb tends to drool and bring it back up, then go off its meals and seem out of sorts. A heftier mouthful can add diarrhea, a sore belly, and the shakes.
Dogs Mild
A dog that unearths and chews the bulb usually slobbers, vomits, and turns away from the bowl. Swallow a fair amount and stomach pain, runny stools, and tremors may follow.
Horses Mild
Those same alkaloids unsettle a horse's digestion, bringing on a flat mood, loose droppings, drooling, and colicky aches, now and then with a faint tremor.
Rabbits Toxic
Lycorine sits in every part of the plant, and a creature as small as a rabbit has almost no room for error with it. Set the bulb, leaves, and flowers well beyond reach rather than chance a single bite.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep can fall ill from the alkaloids held in the foliage and bulbs, showing digestive upset and weakness. A pile of cast-off bulbs left near grazing land is a genuine danger.
Birds Toxic
The lycorine that harms mammals is just as risky for pet birds, so a pecked leaf or petal is never a fair bet. Keep the plant out of any room where a bird has the run of the air.
People Caution
No part of this plant belongs on a plate, and the bulb above all can trigger vomiting and a sore stomach if it is swallowed. Wash up after handling bulbs and store them far from small children.
The bulb is the most poisonous part of the plant; keep bulbs and plants out of reach of pets and children and wash hands after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Named amaryllis run into the hundreds, yet a handful of cultivars keep reappearing at the garden center. These are the ones worth recognizing on sight.
Red Lion
A beloved big-bloomed classic that opens in a rich, unbroken red.
Apple Blossom
Soft pink washes and veins drift across its white petals.
Minerva
A vivid red bloom centered on a white star that spreads from a green-tinged throat.
How to propagate
There are two ways to bring on more amaryllis, a quick one and a patient one: separating the small offsets a bulb produces, or starting fresh plants from seed.
Offsets & pupsEasy
At repotting, typically when the bulb is dormant or being divided every few years. · 1 to 3 years to reach flowering size
The simplest route to more amaryllis is to separate the little offset bulbs that cluster at the foot of the mother bulb, a job that fits neatly into repotting every few years. Plant each on its own and tend it as you would the parent. Patience is part of the deal, as an offset needs 1 to 3 years to reach blooming size.
SeedDemanding
Sow fresh seed soon after it ripens. · Several years (often 3 to 5) to reach flowering size
Growing amaryllis from seed is possible if you sow it fresh, soon after ripening, though it is a long road of several years, often 3 to 5, before a bulb is ready to flower. Hybrid seed also refuses to come true, so the seedlings seldom resemble the parent. For most homes the wait is rarely worth it.
Myths
An amaryllis bulb calls for a spell of refrigeration to coax it into bloom.
There is no need to chill a Hippeastrum bulb in the cold at all. Offer it warmth and water and it will come into bloom indoors in roughly 4 to 6 weeks. The single rest it asks for is a cool, dark dormancy to set the stage for next season's flowers, which has nothing to do with the refrigerator.
The foliage belongs on the cutting board the instant flowering ends.
Those leaves are the engine that restocks the bulb, so let them grow on in bright light and carry on feeding once the flowers are spent. Trim the foliage only when it has yellowed and faded away by itself, on the road into dormancy.