Bulb · Amaryllidaceae
Amaryllis
Hippeastrum hybridum
Pot the bulb, give it warmth and water, and that bare lump erupts into a tall stalk of trumpet flowers in mere weeks.
Bright indirect
Every 5–10 days
64–75°F · 18–24°C
28–56 days
Overview
Hardly any bulb rewards you the way an amaryllis does. A single chunky bulb fires up a sturdy stalk crowned with several enormous trumpet flowers, often in deep red, clean white, or pink and white swirled together. The plant sits in the genus Hippeastrum, the tender amaryllis cousins raised indoors, and it asks barely anything of you before it blooms.
Gardeners mostly run it as a forced indoor bulb, potting in fall to bring color through winter and on into spring. Nestle the bulb so its top third rides above the soil, water it, keep it warm, and the opening flowers unfurl about 4 to 8 weeks on, holding for three or four weeks after. Where winters stay mild across zones 7 to 10, it happily carries on growing outdoors as well.
What you do once the blooms fade decides whether year two delivers. Drive the leaves on in bright light and feed them so the bulb banks energy, then send it off to rest cool and dark before you wake it again. Cut that corner and the next season hands you all leaves and no flowers.
Care
The short version: bright light, warm rooms, and a pot that drains. 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 flowers again next year.
Light
Amaryllis craves bright light, so park it at a sunny window where it banks several hours of direct sun. It copes with full sun right through to partial shade, yet skimp on light and you earn weak, leaning stalks. Spin the pot every few days to keep the flower stem rising straight.
Water
Soak it well the moment you finish potting, then hold the mix just barely moist until growth kicks off. Wait until the top 2 inches of soil turn dry before watering, and let the pot drain right through. Bump up to once or twice weekly through active growth and bloom, then ease off or halt while the bulb naps.
Soil
Reach for a well-drained potting mix loaded with organic matter, on the order of equal parts peat and perlite. A pH band of 6.0 to 7.0 keeps it happy. Drainage is the make-or-break factor here, since a bulb parked in wet soil rots in a hurry.
Temperature
Hold it in everyday warm rooms, 64°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C), all through growth and flowering. Drop the temperature a touch and the open blooms stretch out longer. That separate cool, dark stretch it needs for dormancy is its own phase, well apart from its day-to-day range.
Humidity
Plain indoor air does the job, so skip chasing a target number. Amaryllis shrugs off dry rooms, which lands it among the easiest winter houseplants going.
Feeding
Feed it every two weeks while growth is rolling and the leaves stand up, but never while the bulb sits bare and dormant. A liquid houseplant fertilizer leaning high in phosphorus, around a 10-20-15 blend, fuels flowering, and you serve it at half strength.
Pruning
Pinch each bloom off as it fades, then chop the whole stalk down near the bulb once the final flower is spent. Let the foliage stand, since those leaves are recharging the bulb for next year. Strip the leaves away only after they yellow and collapse on their own.
Repotting
Amaryllis flowers hardest when a touch potbound, so move it on only every 3 to 4 years. Repot when roots crowd or circle the pot, the bulb swallows most of the container, or the flowers begin to shrink. Set it back in with the top third of the bulb riding above the soil line.
Size & spacing
In full flower a potted amaryllis rises 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) and fans out around 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm). Plant one bulb per pot, choosing a container just a shade roomier than the bulb.
When to plant
Amaryllis keeps to the rhythm of a forced bulb. Pot it in fall, usually October or November, and up comes a stalk loaded with winter and early-spring color. Across zones 7 to 10 it heads outdoors as soon as spring frost lifts.
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 amaryllis tends to surface in the stalk, the leaves, or the bulb. Spot the early clues and you can usually rescue the bulb for another year. Find your match below, then jump in before things get worse.
A squishy bulb and growth that caves in
When a bulb goes soft to the touch and gives off a foul smell, bulb rot has set in, and a soggy pot around a leafless bulb is almost always the culprit. Cut off the water immediately, let the mix dry right out, then move the bulb into fresh, fast-draining soil with its top third standing proud of the surface. Pare away every rotted patch, and toss the whole bulb if the decay has eaten 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
Lots of green growth but flowers never show
When a bulb pushes leaf after leaf yet refuses to bloom, you are looking at failure to rebloom, and the root of it is nearly always a bulb that skipped its rest or ran short on stored fuel. Power the leaves up in bright light and feed them once the last bloom drops so the bulb refills its tank, then hand it about 8 to 12 weeks of cool, dark dormancy before forcing it once more. Should the bulb still be young or undersized, one more season of growing will bring it up to flowering strength.
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 stalks
Crimson spotting and streaks creeping over the foliage and flower stalk signal red blotch, known too as leaf scorch, a fungus that arrives hidden in the bulb. Pull and burn the most damaged leaves, then probe the bulb for the tunnels and soft patches that betray bulb mites or narcissus fly larvae at work. Move sound bulbs into fresh, clean mix, and ditch any that are riddled 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
Stretched stalks that flop and tilt at the glass
Stalks that grow soft and lean hard toward the window are showing etiolation, a plant straining after light it cannot reach. Shift it to a bright, sunny spot and spin the pot every couple of days so the stem climbs upright rather than crooked. Toasty rooms drive the trouble along by forcing fast, flimsy growth, so prop the tallest stems with a stake until they toughen up.
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 nothing on it beats the bulb for danger. Every part packs lycorine along with related alkaloids that turn the stomach when eaten. Stash bulbs and plants beyond the reach of pets, livestock, and kids, and scrub your hands once you finish handling them.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A nosy cat that nibbles a leaf or bulb tends to drool and throw up, then go off its dinner and act flat. Bigger mouthfuls can trigger diarrhea, sore belly, and shaking.
Dogs Mild
A dog that unearths and chews the bulb usually slobbers, vomits, and skips meals. Swallow enough and belly pain, runny stools, and tremors come next.
Horses Mild
Those same alkaloids rile a horse's gut, bringing on a flat mood, diarrhea, drooling, and colicky aches, now and then paired with light tremors.
Rabbits Toxic
Lycorine runs through every piece of this plant, and a creature as small as a rabbit has almost no room to spare for it. Stash the bulb, leaves, and flowers far out of reach rather than chance a single bite.
Livestock Toxic
The alkaloids in the leaves and bulbs can poison cattle, goats, and sheep, leaving them queasy and weak. Spent bulbs flung near a pasture turn into a genuine threat.
Birds Toxic
The same lycorine that sickens mammals strikes pet birds hard, so a pecked leaf or petal is a bet not worth making. Keep this plant clear of any room where a bird wings about loose.
People Caution
No part of this plant is food, and the bulb above all can spark vomiting and stomach ache once swallowed. Scrub your hands after touching bulbs and stash them away from little kids.
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 number in the hundreds, yet a handful of cultivars keep landing on shop shelves season after season. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Red Lion
A much-loved big-bloomed pick that opens deep, unbroken red trumpets.
Apple Blossom
White petals come washed and veined through with gentle pink.
Minerva
Vivid red petals frame a white star beaming outward from a green-tinged throat.
How to propagate
Amaryllis multiplies two ways, the quick route or the patient one: lift the small offsets a bulb throws, or grow fresh plants up 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
Multiplying an amaryllis comes easiest by prising off the little offset bulbs that cluster around the base of the mother bulb, a job that fits neatly into repotting every few years. Settle each offset in its own pot and raise it exactly as you would the parent. Pack your patience, though, because 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 works when you sow it fresh, right after it ripens, but the road runs long, often 3 to 5 years before a flowering bulb arrives. Hybrid seedlings won't come true to type either, so they seldom echo the parent plant. For most home growers the wait simply doesn't pay off.
Myths
An amaryllis bulb needs a cold spell in the fridge to kick off flowering.
Hippeastrum bulbs ask for zero cold chilling. Hand them warmth and water and they force into flower indoors within roughly 4 to 6 weeks. The single rest they want is a cool, dark dormancy that sets up the next flush of flowers, which has nothing to do with the fridge.
The foliage gets snipped away the second the flowers wrap up.
Each leaf is busy rebuilding the bulb, so let them carry on in bright light and keep feeding once the flowers drop. Trim the foliage back only after it yellows and folds down by itself, as the plant slides into dormancy.