The 2011-2012 Amaryllis Project Begins!

I've learned that my friends, Jewel & R.C., have given me an amaryllis bulb for Christmas.  Thank you!!

I haven't actually received it yet, because it's down at Mom & Dad's house, but we're getting together for Christmas Eve, so I'll get it then.  As I've done in years past, I'll post photos of it's progress here.

Stay tuned!

January 8 - Full Bloom!

All four blossoms are now open, a beautiful coral-red with a green-white stripe on the outside of the petals.

Still no signs of life from the 2007 and 2008 bulbs.

January 7

Two "trumpets" are now open, two nearly ready to burst open.

A closeup of one of the lovely blossoms.

January 6

All four blossoms are now flattened down, preparing to burst open.

January 5

It always amazes me how much progress an amaryllis bloom will make in just one day once it really starts going.

Still no change in the 2007 and 2008 bulbs yet, though.

The 2009 Project

My friends Jewel and R.C. gave me a new amaryllis bulb for Christmas. I had stupidly forgotten to mark my calendar of the correct date for replanting the 2007 bulb, so it didn't get planted until the 2009 bulb. *kicking self* At the same time, I replanted the bulb that Mom had from 2008. There are no signs of life yet from either the 2007 or the 2008 bulb, but it's still early. It will probably be at least 2 or 3 weeks before they pop up, so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I'll post some photos of this year's bulb. It's doing beautifully so far! Here's a picture I took on New Year's Day. The 2007 and 2008 bulb are planted in the large pot behind this year's plant.

Here's a closeup of the top of the plant:

Here's what the same plant looked like last night (January 3):

By this morning, it had opened up even more:

The 2008 Replanting

When I trimmed the growth to put my bulb to sleep after the 2007 blooming, I put it in a paper bag and stored it in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator. I'd marked the replanting date on my calendar.

On October 29 I replanted it so that it would (hopefully) bloom during the Christmas holidays. As you can see, it didn't bloom this year, but it did grow some large, beautiful leaves. I'll put it to sleep again, mark the calendar for replanting day, and try again next year. :-)