“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn
This summer, inspired by Amaryllis Man and my friend and fellow MG, Darrel, I successfully hand-pollinated my red amaryllis after two failed attempts. It set seed — lots and lots of seed. Wait for the seed pod to mature. It will split open revealing papery black seeds.
Amaryllis is a blooming bulb often sold at Christmastime in the Northern Hemisphere. It belongs to the genus Hippeastrum. Amaryllis is the common name.
The technique I learned to propagate the seeds is to float the papery seeds in a dish of water until they sprout one leaf and one root and then plant them in small pots. I was hoping for a handful.
I now have 32 amaryllis starts in addition to five full-grown bulbs.
You might be wondering how long it takes amaryllis to go from seed to a flowering bulb, and it takes 4-5 years.
I recently transplanted mine from 2-inch to 4-inch pots, and they have bulbs the size of small green onions. Belatedly, I realized that I could have put a bunch of seedlings in one big pot. I’ll be ready for the next time.