The New Year & the Amaryllis

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amaryllis - 2023

photo by Styrous®

 

 

        

        

A miracle happens for me at the beginning of each New Year.         

               

Around Christmas red waxed bulbs are sold with the start of an amaryllis in it. I wait until after Christmas to buy mine so that by New Year's it begins to bloom. You take it home, place it where you like it with no direct sun but plenty of bright light. Other than turning it 180 degrees every other day or so, so that it grows straight, you don't have to do ANYthing with or to it, no watering, no nothing! 

 

I call that a miracle.      

      

         

 

If the amaryllis was not so incredibly beautiful, it would be a Christmas cliché.       

        

The amaryllis is enjoyed with good food to celebrate and to hope for good things in the coming year.                

 

 

Chicken soup

photo by Styrous®
 

 

After some lengthy online searching (I LOVE the internet) I found out how a waxed amaryllis bulb works. The roots are first removed from the bulb. It is then covered in wax which prevents the bulb from growing new roots. A custom spiral metal stand is embedded in the wax to assure that the plant stands upright. As a result, the amaryllis doesn't live beyond the bloom period. There is a link below on how to make your own waxed amaryllis.       

   

 

 

From Wikipedia:

 

It is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of the Western Cape region of South Africa.          

 

For many years there was confusion among botanists over the generic names Amaryllis and Hippeastrum, one result of which is that the common name "amaryllis" is mainly used for cultivars of the genus Hippeastrum, widely sold in the winter months for their ability to bloom indoors.          

 

During the Victorian Age, in Language of Flowers (see Plant symbolism), amaryllis means "pride, determination and radiant beauty."       

      

As of October 2020, Amaryllis had only two accepted species, both native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa:

 

Amaryllis belladonna L. – south-west Cape Provinces; introduced into many parts of the world, including California, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand 

 

Amaryllis paradisicola Snijman – west Cape Provinces.         

 

The plant has a symbiotic relationship with carpenter bees. It is also visited by noctuid moths at night. The relative importance of these animals as pollinators has not yet been established; however, carpenter bees are thought to be the main pollinators of amaryllis on the Cape Peninsula.           

 

It has gradually naturalized from plantings in urban and suburban areas throughout the lower elevations and coastal areas in much of the West Coast of the US since these environments mimic their native South African habitat. Hardiness zones 6–8. It is also naturalized in Australia.       

 

 

 

        

Viewfinder links:        

        

Styrous®          

        

Net links:        

        

The Art of Doing Stuff ~ How to Make Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs      
Styrous®              

        

Youtube links:        

        

Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs, what are they? any water needed?               

         

        

        

         

         

        

Happy New Year, 2023!   

        

        

        

        

         

        

         

Styrous® ~ Sunday, January 1, 2023       

      

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