How to Help an Amaryllis That Won't Bloom
Amaryllis are large perennial flowers grown from bulbs and produce multiple flowers once each year atop a tall cylindrical stem in the spring, summer or winter. Amaryllis bulbs are widely grown as both indoor potted plants and as outdoor garden plants but their care is somewhat different in each context. Failure to flower may have many causes and most can be remedied by altering the environment around the bulb to bring it more into line with the needs of the plant. The most common deterrents to flowering include: too much nitrogen fertilizer, overly rich soil, recent digging, dividing or transplanting, too little sun and poor drainage resulting in bulb rot. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Water
- Liquid plant fertilizer 10-10-10
- Bulb fertilizer 5-10-10
- Organic mulch
Instructions
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Grow your amaryllis where it will receive bright direct sunlight daily and limited afternoon shade if any at all. Place indoor plants in a south-facing window. Provide warm ambient temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees F when it is not in flower and 65 degrees F in flower.
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Maintain a well drained planting soil with organic matter and a slightly acidic pH level between 6.0 and 6.8. Plant the bulb so that shoulders or top inch of the bulb are exposed and nor buried in the soil.
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Fertilize your amaryllis regularly. Feed indoor plants with a balanced complete liquid houseplant fertilizer with a 10-10-10 guaranteed analysis every 5 to 6 weeks at 50 percent of the recommended dose. Feed outdoor plants with a low nitrogen formula granular bulb fertilizer such as a 5-10-10 at a rate of 1 1/2 pounds for every 100 square feet of established bulb plantings or 3 pounds per 100 square feet on new plantings. Repeat this application in spring when new green growth appears, again when the stalk is 6 to 8 inches in height and a third time when the flower has died back and the stalk has been cut down.
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Pull competitive weeds from the surrounding soil and mulch with an organic material such as shredded bark or cocoa bean hulls to hold moisture in the soil and protect the bulb from temperature fluctuations.
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Tips & Warnings
If your amaryllis has recently been dug, divided or transplanted allow at least one recovery year before expecting bloom, though it may not be required.
