Bulbs that will bring the wow factor in time for Christmas

Amaryllis simply ooze exuberance, and if you plant them now you’ll have stunning blooms in about 10 weeks, says Arthur Parkinson

Amaryllis – or hippeastrum to give them their correct name for once – are the ultimate party flowers for the festive season ahead. Providing weeks’ worth of grandeur, they command an almost instant “wow” reaction as they come into view.

They look confident when they are displayed all a-gaggle, oozing exuberance. I implore you to always plant them in trios and arrange them by the half-dozen at least.

In nature, groups of tall creatures have their own collective nouns. Giraffes graze in towers, flamingos dance in flamboyances, so amaryllis should surely grow in amazements. That’s what I shall call them, anyway.

If you plant these tender bulbs now, you’ll have them in flower in about 10 weeks’ time.

TOP VARIETIES

The most easily found deep-red amaryllis ‘Royal Velvet’ takes some beating in the glamour stakes, although the recently bred ‘Mandela’ is arguably even more voluptuous.

The classic ‘Red Lion’ of cardinal mozzetta red is fuller of itself in the pomp stakes. You can imagine it in the dankest room of a Charles Dickens novel looking spectacular.

If you prefer calmer colours, ‘Apple Blossom’ is a dreamy palette of white and pale, streaked pink with a hint of green. This one, along with ‘Red Lion’ and ‘Royal Velvet’, is readily available as a cut flower. Order from a good florist in advance.

If you fancy something that looks as if you bought it from a rare botanical plant fair, grow Hippeastrum papilio.

The flowers look like marvellous, bewitching butterflies. More unusual is the jack-in-the-box glacé cherry red ‘Quito’ with thin, outward-curved petals. For an elegant, classy zap of cool green lime, choose ‘Lemon Star’.

‘Tosca’ looks like an Eton mess on a stalk, a rich, raspberry-carmine pink creature edged with creamy white.

A MATTER OF SIZE

When choosing amaryllis bulbs, remember that size will usually dictate the number of flowers. The large bulbs naturally command a higher price because these will send up at least three flowering stems each; the more unusual varieties may cost more too.

Each flower will look good for two weeks and the buds will open in succession.

If the cost of buying several of these rather odd-looking, coconut-like creatures alarms you at the checkout, imagine that you’re buying a huge bouquet, one that will flower for nearly a two-month stretch with no smelly vase water at the end.

OLD OR NEW

I buy new amaryllis bulbs shamelessly each year. There are many tales about coaxing amaryllis back into flower again, but I have always failed. A technique that I have seen work at first hand came from my uncle Chris, who has kept a particular bulb flowering repeatedly for more than a decade.

In October, his Madonna amaryllis bulb resides in the dark of his pantry in its pot concealed by an old hessian sack. Here it is not watered for several months. After mid-December, the pot is placed on the windowsill. The bulb’s dead foliage is removed and, sure enough, within a few weeks of it sensing light and water, a snout of a bud re-emerges and the promise of flowers bears fruit.

After flowering, the stalks are cut

off but fortnightly watering continues and a seaweed feed is given monthly. The leaves flourish over the summer. In September, though, the watering stops and so the leaves crisp up and the bulb returns to its pantry to sleep again.

From good, freshly bought bulbs, flowering is almost always guaranteed. To awaken these into growth, place each bulb atop a water-filled jam jar the night before you want to plant them. The bulb sits on the jar’s rim above the water as its seemingly dead jellyfish-like roots dangle down to rehydrate.

POTTING UP

A container for several bulbs need not be huge as amaryllis enjoy their roots being cramped, but it must have enough bottom weight to counteract the height of the eventual flowers, which can grow to be more than 60cm tall. Drainage is vital so find a saucer to go under any indoor bulb display and place some crocks on top of the pot’s drainage holes before adding the compost.

I have found that the best compost for indoor bulbs is peat-free Dalesfoot bulb compost. Into this I mix a few handfuls of biochar fertiliser; this not only enriches the compost but helps to keep it smelling sweet, too.

The bulbs are wiggled into their pot like collected goose eggs, closely together but not touching, with about half of the bulb left above the surface. Dress in between the bulbs with generous handfuls of moss. If the compost is moist then don’t water the pot for a week or so and only water lightly once growth begins in earnest.

Place the pot in full light and turn it around each day so that the bulbs don’t lean towards to the light as they grow. Otherwise they’ll resemble zoo giraffes stretching towards a hayrack.

BUILD A NEST

For instant interest while the bulbs settle, create an awaiting and vital support nest by sticking twigs all around the outer rim of the pot. I use silver birch. Young twiggy whips of it are easily tamed and they can be curved over and plaited quickly into a circle at about 30cm high. At this height the nest will ensure that no amaryllis stems fatally snap.

Magnolia and curly hazel branches work well too, as they have an inward claw-like habit. For some essential festive fairy dust, you could adorn the nest with copper-wired lights – hide the battery pack under the moss.