Brighten Your Indoor Garden with Amaryllis

Brighten your home with a few colorful amaryllis. Purchase firm bulbs that are free of soft spots and blemishes.

Plant one or more bulbs in a container with drainage holes that is slightly larger than the bulbs. Plant your amaryllis in a well-drained potting mix, leaving the top 1/3 of the bulb above the soil surface. Then water thoroughly.

Or place several inches of pebbles in the bottom of a glass vase or watertight container. Cover the pebbles with water. Set the bulb on top of the pebbles adding more stones to secure the bulb while leaving the top ¹/₃ exposed. Continue to keep the water level just below the bulb.

Move the potted amaryllis bulb to a cool sunny location. Water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil barely moist.

Be patient as it can take a month or more for flowers to appear.

A bit more information: Extend your enjoyment by placing flowering amaryllis plants in a cool location, free from drafts of hot and cold air. Once the flowers fade, remove the flower stem, but leave the leaves intact. Then fertilize the plants with a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer and grow it like your other houseplants.