Ultimate Amaryllis Care Guide: Everything You Need To Grow These Holiday Favorites

Amaryllis is a quintessential holiday flower. Easy to package and ready to bloom in winter, it might just be the number one Christmas plant gift. But if you've received an amaryllis as a gift, you might not know what comes next. Or maybe you do! Maybe you're a seasoned gardener, but you've got a question or two.

Either way, there's plenty of info in store for you here, including a step by step planting guide, a year-long care calendar, and a variety guide. So let's dive in and learn about this classic bulb type!

Quick Amaryllis Facts

Amaryllis Plant Care

You can get yourself an already-blooming amaryllis plant, but the most common way to buy one is as a dormant bulb, often in a cardboard box with a little pot and some soil. At least that's how mine comes every Christmas. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started.

Step-By-Step Planting Guide

1. Choose a heavier container to keep your amaryllis from becoming top-heavy and tipping over. It should be only 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) wider in diameter than the bulb itself.
2. Cover the bottom of the pot with a well-draining potting mix. When you set the bulb on the soil, its shoulders should just clear the top of the pot.
3. Fill potting mix in around the bulb. Make sure to leave 1/3 to 1/2 of the top of the bulb exposed.
4. Pat the potting mix down firmly.
5. Water the bulb until water flows freely out of the drainage hole.
6. Place your potted amaryllis in a warm spot with bright, indirect light.

Light Requirements

Just after planting the bulb, place the container in a spot with bright indirect light. A sunny window is ideal. Once the flower starts to form, though, you should move it to a slightly less bright location to prolong the blooming period.

Water

Watering can be slightly tricky with amaryllis plants. When you first plant the bulb, you should water it thoroughly. After that, though, it doesn't need nearly as much water. In fact, overwatering can lead to amaryllis bulb rot. While your amaryllis is growing, you should only watering it when the surface of the soil is dry to the touch. Consider picking up a simple moisture meter on Amazon to ensure optimal moisture.

When it's time for your amaryllis to go dormant (we'll cover this more below in the reblooming section), it's essential that you not water it at all. The whole object is to mimic the dry season of the plant's natural habitat.

While they can't stay in the environment long-term, it's actually possible to grow amaryllis in water!

Temperature

Warm temperatures between 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit (21-24 C) will promote the best growth. After the plant flowers it prefers cooler temperatures, closer to 65 F. (18 C). You can use a seedling heat mat to set the exact temperature your amaryllis needs.

Soil

Choosing soil for amaryllis plants isn't complicated – standard potting soil will work just fine. So will that expandable brick of growing medium that might have come with your bulb. If you want something a little fancier, Back to the Roots has an organic option on Amazon.

You can always make your own potting mix as well. 2 parts of loam with 1 part perlite and 1 part compost makes for a good growing medium.

Fertilizer

Some gardeners recommend feeding amaryllis plants with a slow release fertilizer at planting time, but this can be dangerous. Fertilizing a bulb with no leaves can actually kill the roots!

Instead, fertilize your amaryllis twice per month with a houseplant formula that's been diluted according to the package instructions. Use a 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 ratio. We recommend this MARPHYL Organic Fertilizer from Amazon.

Problems, Pests, & Diseases

Amaryllis bulbs grown indoors have few pest issues, but overwatering can make the bulb rot. Before you plant your bulb, make sure it's plump and free of defects, or you'll be fighting an uphill battle from day one.

Here are a few common amaryllis problems:

• Mealybugs may infest plants that are moved outdoors for summer. Wipe the leaves with rubbing alcohol or use a horticultural oil spray.
• A common commercial disease is red blotch, also known as amaryllis leaf scorch. It's a fungal disease that attacks leaves and stems with red streaks. Use a systemic fungicide to combat it.
• Amaryllis southern blight appears first as yellow and wilting leaves, followed by white fungus around the stem.
• If your amaryllis is all leaves and no flowers, it might need to enter its dormant period before it can bloom again. It's also possible that the soil is too nitrogen-rich, or it's being kept in an area that is too shady.
• Drooping amaryllis leaves could be caused by too little light, too much fertilizer, or improper watering. If it's been a while since it's bloomed, it might also simply be entering its dormant period.

What to do with an Amaryllis after It Blooms

Amaryllis care after flowering doesn't take much. Once the flowers have faded, you can cut back the flower stalks, but make sure to leave the leaves! The bulb needs them to gather and store energy through spring and summer. If you cut the leaves back before it's time, you'll get either weak flowers or no flowers next Christmas.

Keep watering your amaryllis and give it a boost of fertilizer in the spring. With regular watering, the leaves will stay green all summer.

Once temperatures have warmed up to the plant's preferred range (in the 70s F even at night) you can move it outside to soak up the sun. Just make sure to bring it back in before temperatures dip at all.

How to Make an Amaryllis Rebloom

If you want your amaryllis to bloom again, you'll have to trick it into entering dormancy.

Amaryllis plants grow from large, round bulbs, and unlike lots of other common bulb types, they don't require chilling! They're native to tropical and subtropical regions, and won't fare well at all if they're subjected to freezing temperatures.

They do, however, need a period of "rest" in a cool, dry spot with no watering for 8-10 weeks in order to flower. This mimics the dry season in their natural environment, and kick starts the growth cycle all over again.

This process should start in late summer or early fall, basically 8-12 weeks before you want it to bloom. Basically, if you want flowers for Christmas, you should start in early September.

1. Stop watering and fertilizing your amaryllis. This will trigger dormancy and cause the leaves to die back naturally.
2. Once the leaves have withered, cut them back.
3. Move the potted bulb to a cool (50-55 F/10-13 C), dark spot like a garage or a dry basement.
4. Leave the bulb in this spot for 8 weeks and ignore it. RESIST THE URGE TO WATER IT! What it needs from you right now is neglect.
5. After 8 weeks, move the bulb to a warm, bright spot and give it a watering. New growth should start to emerge.
6. Water only when the soil is dry, and watch your new flowers grow!

Amaryllis Care Calendar

Propagation

Amaryllis seed propagation is possible, but the resulting plants can take up to 14 years to flower. Amaryllis bulb propagation is much easier, and store-bought bulbs are readily available in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and flower forms. These are the most direct routes to enjoying the amazing, huge flowers.

You may also try cuttage. This is where the bulb is cut into 4 sections and planted with the root end down. Cover 1/3 of the cuttings with peat moss or perlite. Keep the pot in a shaded location and warm and moist. In about 4 weeks each cutting should root.

Divide amaryllis bulbs that are growing outdoors in autumn or early spring.

Repotting

Amaryllis enjoys being pot bound, but it will require a soil change every 2-3 years. After several years even it will outgrow its home, and it'll need a new pot. Select a container only slightly larger than the circumference of the bulb. Use a well draining medium and water the soil well to settle it around the roots. The best time for repotting amaryllis plants is after the dormant stage in fall, or in early spring.

Varieties

Amaryllis flowers come in a wide variety of colors. You can get red, pink, apricot, burgundy, white, or multi-color, single petal or double petal. Since they're such a popular commodity, they're constantly being bred and spliced into exciting new cultivars. Currently there are more than 500 types of amaryllis, but that number is always going up.

Here are some of the most popular varities:

• Apple Blossom
• Christmas Star
• Charisma
• Monaco
• Double Dream
• Marilyn
• Stargazer

Frequently Asked Questions

Amaryllis Care Essentials