Amaryllis is a popular gift you will see in the garden center in the fall through Christmas. If you purchased or received one of these bulbs I hope you had success and it has bloomed for you and now you may be asking what should I do next?

Amaryllis are very simple to grow and will re bloom year after year if taken care of properly. You can continue to care for the bulb in the container with the care listed below or in central Alabama amaryllis can be planted outdoors. If planting outdoors, be sure to plant in an area with at least half a day of full sun and in soil with really good drainage. When you get ready to plant the bulb make sure the neck and shoulders of the bulb are showing and check on it throughout the season to make sure mulch doesn’t cover it. You should water the bulbs weekly and fertilize once a month. All spring and summer you are growing healthy foliage and this foliage is sending energy to the bulb, which is storing up the food it needs to bloom next year. Once September or October rolls around it is now ok to go in and cut back the foliage all the way down to the neck of the bulb. This is the case whether it is in your pot indoors or outside in the ground. If it is still indoors in the container in September you should stop watering the bulb and let the soil dry, then move it to a cool dark place. Outdoors we cannot control the amount of rainfall, but the plant should begin to go dormant on its own and no more water or fertilizer is needed until it begins to break dormancy in early spring.

For the indoor container keep in mind that once you take it out of its dormant location you should expect it to flower in about 8 weeks. Indoors we call this “forcing” the bulb as you are tricking the bulb to make it think it is early spring in your home to produce a flower show. Usually this is done around November when you place the container in a sunny window and the ideal temperature is 60°F. If it is too warm in your home the foliage will be very elongated. Remember to rotate the container as the foliage and flower stalks will want to grow towards the sun. While the flower stalk is growing, feed with a complete liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks. Amaryllis make a great cut flower as well so even if the plant gets too elongated and begins to tip over indoors, cut the bloom and place it in a vase of water. The bloom will continue to open up over time and the flowers will last 2-3 weeks.

Then the same process begins again for another year. If the bulb has grown in size where it is too big for the pot the time to transfer it to a new container is in September when you let the soil dry out and cut back all the foliage. Any offsets may be left on the mother bulb to produce a clump, or, at the time of repotting, they may be pulled off with a portion of root attached to develop new bulbs of the same variety. Handle offsets in the same manner as the mother bulb. They will bloom the second or third season.

The Master Gardener Helpline opens March 1st so please call 1-877-252(ALA)-4769(GROW) with all your gardening related questions. We are excited to help you achieve success with your flowers, vegetable gardens and more this year!