How to Care For Amaryllis Plants

Amaryllis are popular flowering plants to give and receive. If you’re needing to know how to care for amaryllis plants, we’ll cover that here after a brief introduction to this regal plant.

About the Amaryllis Plant

The Amaryllis is a flowering plant with tall green stalks that grow up to 20 inches tall from a single bulb. Each Amaryllis bulb can produce between one and three stalks with four to eight large star-shaped trumpet-like flowers on each one.

Amaryllis flowers come in a range of colors, such as red, pink, and variegated varieties, of yellow, white, and cream.

Few flowering bulbs produce the number and intensity of blooms as the stunning Amaryllis plant. Additionally, few bulbs are more beautiful or as easily grown as the amaryllis.

Overview of How to Care for Amaryllis

With just a little attention to details, Amaryllis plants are an easy-to-care-for gift that keeps on giving.

ZONE: What is the Amaryllis Hardiness Zone

Amaryllis can grow outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 8-10, or 6-10 for hardier varieties such as the remarkable striped Hippeastrum x johnsonii.

FLOWERING: When Do Amaryllis Plants Bloom?

Most Amaryllis flower in late January through early March, depending on the variety, so fall is a good time to plant amaryllis bulbs for winter flowers and for Christmas plants for gifts. If you’re in Amaryllis grow zones, they’re a lovely addition to mild climate landscapes.

Potted flowers that bloom indoors bring the beauty of nature inside to warm our hearts, and remind us of the promise of spring. That’s one of the things we enjoy about Amaryllis, and also our current other bloomers — fiesta hibiscus, geraniums, begonias and orchids.

With proper aftercare of your Amaryllis bulb, you will be able to regrow this plant next year and enjoy its beauty again, and for years to come!

See our geraniums in bloom with our Meyer Lemons in full fruit here. They’re a little leggy from busy-ness neglect, but still happily blooming and fruiting!

How Long Does It Take for Amaryllis Plants to Bloom?

Under optimal conditions, most varieties of Amaryllis will begin blooming in just under two months after planting the bulb. Although some may need up to twelve weeks to reach full bloom potential, so overall, Amaryllis plants will flower in 6-12 weeks from planting, depending on the variety you choose.

So if you purchase a range of Amaryllis varieties, you can enjoy the beautiful blossoms from late fall through spring!

Cut spent flowers from the stem. Cut stems at base when they begin to wilt and blooms are spent.

Early-blooming holiday varieties: Bolero, Cape Horn, Charisma, Denver, Ice Queen, Mandela, Olaf
Early winter varieties: Minerva, Cherry Nymph, Magic Green, Magical Touch and Evergreen
Mid-winter varieties: Appleblossom, Splash, Double King, Exotica and White Nymph
Late winter varieties: Red Pearl, Red Lion, Spartacus, Nymph, Christmas Gift and Lagoon

REFERENCE: Longfield Gardens

How Long Do Amaryllis Blooms Last?

Once your Amaryllis flowers bloom, each individual flower can last up to two weeks and each stalk can produce several flowers on each stalk. Most Amaryllis plants will grow multiple stalks for multiple flowers per stalk with staggered bloom times, so overall, you can look forward to a couple months of Amaryllis blossoms.

SOIL: What Kind of Soil Do Amaryllis Need?

Amaryllis plants thrive in quick-draining soil. An average all-purpose potting soil, or a blend of soil, peat, and perlite will serve well.

WATER: How Much Water Does an Amaryllis Plant Need?

Water newly planted bulbs initially, then keep slightly moist (just enough to keep it from drying out), until the green stalks start to grow.

LIGHT: How Much Light Does an Amaryllis Plant Need?

All the Amaryllis plant needs to thrive is good potting soil that drains well, water frequency that won’t let it dry out, and to be placed in a sunny location until it blooms. Thereafter, indirect light is best for longer lasting blossoms.

SUPPORT: Staking Amaryllis Plants

A support stake or post may be needed for Amaryllis if the stalks get weighted down by the heavy blooms. If you’re giving Amaryllis as Christmas plants for gifts, you might also consider adding one of these attractive plant stakes to go along with it.

My mother had an amaryllis and as the leafy like stalks grew, they began to bend over and one of them broke at the base before she added plant supports.

You can find many pre-packaged Amaryllis plant kits ready to grow on Amazon and at your local home stores. These make for fun and beautiful gifts that bring enjoyment for months and even years to come.

How To Care For Amaryllis Plants After Blooming

Once your Amaryllis plant has bloomed and brightened your home, it will begin to die back and stop producing blooms as the plant prepares for its dormant season.

Don’t be intimidated by the treatment needed to keep your Amaryllis growing for many years to come. It’s not hard and once you go through these few simple steps, you’ll know what to do for years to come.

How to Care for and Regrow Amaryllis Plants

You can follow a few steps to take care of your Amaryllis bulb once the plant finishes blooming so it will stay healthy and ready to give you a show the following year.

When to Cut Back Amaryllis Flowers and Leaves

Continue watering and fertilizing through summer while the leaves exhibit healthy green growth.
Clip faded blooms from stems, and cut flower stalks at the bulb once flowering is done.
Let the healthy green leaves grow so they continue to photosynthesize food to store in the bulb.
Water the Amaryllis plant regularly throughout summer.
Fertilize Amaryllis 1-2 times monthly until September.
Time to go dormant.

How to Induce Amaryllis Dormancy

To induce Amaryllis dormancy in fall:

Cut off all Amaryllis leaves down to the bulb.
Stop watering it.
Store Amaryllis in a cool dark place at ±53°F / 11.7°C for ±9 weeks.

A Greenhouse Might Help

An indoor greenhouse might help you in establishing the right microclimate for your Amaryllis.
A cattle panel greenhouse or cold frame can also work. You’ll just need to monitor the temperature which, if you’re already using a greenhouse, you’ll be used to doing anyway. We’re using this wireless greenhouse thermometer.
A heavy shade cloth will keep your dormant bulbs in the dark.

How to Regrow Your Amaryllis

Time to wake up: In late fall to early winter, place your Amaryllis in a warm sunny location:
- southern facing windows are ideal
- LED grow lights are useful if you don’t have a sunny window
Keep plant warm at ±73°F / 22.8°C t to stimulate growth. We use the warming pad we use for growing microgreens and seedlings.
Keep moist but not wet. Lightly water the soil and bulb enough to retain moisture but do not soak. Most of the growing is taking place inside the bulb at this point in much the same way the roots of the plants in the ground are being replenished and nourished.

Understanding what to do with Amaryllis blooms after they stop blooming allows you to maximize the time you can enjoy your plant and makes it easier to repeat the process.

How Do I Get My Amaryllis to Bloom Again?

When it’s time for your Amaryllis plant to grow again, you can care for it just as you did last year. With the proper process and care during the growing season, you can keep these bulbs growing and blooming year after year for a beautiful splash of color you can rely on every season!

As mentioned above, your bulbs can be stimulated to bloom (aka forcing blooms) the following season again by giving them a period of dormancy. Keeping the bulb someplace like a basement refrigerator that’s set to ±53°for a minimum of eight weeks is ideal.

You can keep your Amaryllis bulbs dorman for longer if you wish, as that is an easy way to time the next bloom cycle. For example, if you bring a bulb or two out of dormancy every two weeks, from late fall to early winter, you’ll have new and fresh Amaryllis blossoms for many months to come.

REFERENCE: Iowa State Extension Service – Horticulture News^[1]https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/what-should-i-do-my-amaryllis-after-it-done-blooming

Wake Up Your Amaryllis Bulbs ±7 Weeks Before Desired Flowering

Approximately six to eight weeks before you want to start enjoying blooms again, you can start waking the bulb up from its dormancy. To do this, repot the bulb in fresh soil and follow the above-mentioned steps to stimulate new growth. Once you see new growth, you can increase the watering frequency and add some liquid fertilizer bi-monthly, to give it an energy boost right from the start.

Caring for Amaryllis Plants – Now You’re a Pro!

Amaryllis are a lot like the Goldilocks of plants. Not too hot and not too cold, not too dry and not too wet, and avoid too much sun or too little direct light.

Following these basic care guidelines will make your Amaryllis the center of attention every winter, and your home will always have beautiful flowers to break up the drab and dreary season!

Amaryllis are like perennials: you buy it once and then enjoy it for many years to come!